Friday, April 24, 2009

Project Recap No. 3 - SaltWorks...

SaltWorks - White

In the SaltWorks a set of salt blocks (usually used to soften water), roughly 28 by 28 by 8 cm each, were manipulated through various dissolving and saturation techniques (water or ink drips, soaks, sand-blasting, laser-cutting, melting tar, to mention a few) into a variety of shapes and textures. The salt blocks, which feel both in weight and texture like white blocks of marble, were tough enough to resist an industrial laser (which only left the smallest of 'scars' on the surface of our test-block), but could be dissolved in two under a running hot tap within minutes...



SaltWorks - Red...

SaltWorks - Tar

SaltWorks - Black & Yellow...


We also showed a number of larger SaltWorks installation pieces in the courtyard of the nous Gallery's in London in April - May, 2008. They formed a more comprehensive expansion of the themes touched upon in the individual Saltworks discussed above. Here the salt blocks were assembled into a variety of compositions, which, when left exposed to wind and weather, resulted in the installations - which began as white, ascetic compositions - gradually decomposing and fragmenting into a weathered jumble of white boulders and textured puddles...

Beginning of week one...


Week Two...


Week Three...

Week Four...



Before (above) and After (below) pictures of the 'Long Salt' composition...



We also did a piece where we combined the salt blocks with tar, where two contrasting materials (white/ black, resists water/ dissolves in water...) were allowed to interact...

At the beginning of the exhibition...

A few weeks later...


Individuals involved in the realization and assembly of the SaltWorks were: Paul Brady, Joel Brady, Miguel Fonseca, Eisuke Kumagi, Melissa Woolford, Tina DiCarlo, Christian Derix, Paul Coates, Thomas Modeen and a group of students from the Department of Architecture at the University of East London.

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