photos via thisiscolossal
Japanese contemporary artist, Motoi Yamamoto, recently completed an installation at the Mint Museum Uptown. He creates installations made entirely out of salt, often in the form of large-scale labyrinths or aerial projections of typhoons. Titled “Floating Garden”, this new piece was created over several weeks from February through March before a crowd of attendees were permitted to destroy it. See the process from start to finish.
"Salt, a traditional symbol for purification and mourning in Japanese culture, is used in funeral rituals and by sumo wrestlers before matches. It is frequently placed in small piles at the entrance to businesses to ward off evil spirits and to attract benevolent ones. Motoi forged a connection to salt while mourning the death of his sister, at the age of twenty-four, and began to create art out of salt in an effort to preserve his memories of her. His art radiates an intense beauty and tranquility, but also conveys something ineffable, painful, and endless" -- Mint Museum
