israeli artist, sigalit landau invites viewers to embark on a journey facilitated by the unique feature of one natural resource – salt. drawing inspiration from the dead sea, landau uses the hypersaline body of water to create densely encrusted salt sculptures, emerging everyday objects through a process akin to a dead sea baptism in her series ‘salt years’. 

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
the hypersaline body of water encrusts objects with salt
all images courtesy of sigalit landau and salt years

 

 

emerge from their submersion as if belonging to a different time and place, landau uses the natural process of salt crystallisation to create pieces that crossover topographical, historical, biblical, cultural, political and environmental realms. in an attempt to unveil the divine and the eterna in nature, landua has marked her 15-year oeuvre in a new book titled salt years, exploring the artist’s process and bringing a new perspective to her salt crystal sculptures, video art, and images. you can pre-order the 288-page book through landau’s indiegogo campaign.

 

sigalit landau – salt years
video by studio sigalit landau

 

 

‘the years of working with the heavy liquid solution of the dead sea are connected not only to my personal and physical memories, but also to long gone memories of landscapes covered with snow and to a process of mourning; seeking to heal and to repair something through this dialogue with nature,‘ explains landau. ‘frozen, yet concieved by the desset sun and firy-waters, the sculptures are for me like personal archeological testimonies crystallized and immortalized.‘

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
the objects look as if belonging to a different time and place

 

 

landau welcomes people to engage in the transformative power of art and her transformation of the dead sea into a laboratory and medium for new experiments, ideas and heart/ground breaking understandings, revealing the death bearing to life sustaining alchemy of salt. you can pre-order the 288-page book through landau’s indiegogo campaign.

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
for 15 years landau has been monitoring various objects placed below the water

 

 

‘the years of working with the heavy liquid solution of the dead sea are connected not only to my personal and physical memories, but also to long gone memories of landscapes covered with snow and to a process of mourning; seeking to heal and to repair something through this dialogue with nature,‘ explains landau. ‘frozen, yet concieved by the desset sun and firy-waters, the sculptures are for me like personal archeological testimonies crystallized and immortalized.‘

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
these objects are removed once they become ‘salt sculptures’

 

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
shoes, ballerina dresses and other objects contribute symbolically to the narrative of the artist’s life

 

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
landau with new salt sculptures

 

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
a pair of boots transformed into salt sculptures

 

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
readymades suspended during an exhibit of the artist’s work in paris, 2007

 

sigalit landau salt years salt sculptures dead sea baptism
an excerpt from the artist’s new book, salt years