The two works were created simultaneously; one was fashioned from a block of salt provided by Cervia salt-works for the art competition Sculture di Sale Sapore di Sale 2009. The other was created as a mosaic in which the complex shape of the work and the appearance and arrangement of the tesserae and materials chosen make explicit allusions to salt and to the water from which it is obtained.
Both instances emphasise the natural process by which salt is produced from seawater and the chemical and physical properties of salt, whose crystal lattice is actually cubic in form. The word "sale" used in the title can also be construed as a verb (rises) in Italian, referring to the vapour that rises from the water or as a noun when referring to cooking salt, which is produced by evaporating seawater.
43 x 43 x 43 cm
Salt
60 x 60 x 60 cm
Marble, smalti and white gold
On display at Musa, Cervia’s Salt museum until 13 September and subsequently at Cervia's salt-works visitor centre at Via Bova, 61.
Future exhibitions:
at the former abattoir in Russi (Ravenna) from 17 to 21 September
at Ravenna2009, Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna from 30 September to 2 October 2009
Design and installation of services by Giuliano Rossi.