SALT
STATEMENT

Salt is series of salted paper prints using salt water with varying salinity from natural sources.

Varying the salinity of the water used in the gelatin salt solution results in a tonal variation of the prints from pinkish gray to sepia shades. The natural salt water is mixed directly with gelatin, rather than diluted to a consistent salinity (typically 2%); therefore, the results vary considerably. One particularly beautiful effect of the unusual hypersalinity in this process is the accumulation of salt on the finished images, which sparkles in the light.

The salt water in this series originates from a variety of sources including multiple points on the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Cape Fear River, which, as an estuary, varies in salinity, as well as the Great Salt Lake and Badwater Basin. The Sodium Chloride content of the water samples measured with a Salt Brine Hydrometer varies from 1% to 55% salinity.

The prints were created by contact printing digital photographic negatives of the bodies of salt water as well as making photograms of the water collection bottles.

This series was generously supported by a Charles L. Cahill Research Award.