Salt Imaginaries | Designers in Residence, the Design Museum London

Salt Imaginaries investigated minerals and extractive processes from the Atacama Desert in Chile. The project created an architectural surface made of 1300 tiles of salt and gypsum to propose a new perception of salt; a vital and abundant mineral that has signified many different things since ancient times. Experimenting with different kinds of saline residues —from discarded salts from lithium evaporation processes, to salts left as residue on the roads that go from the mines to the port— the installation questioned the value of a disregarded material to re-think it as a precious, dynamic, and versatile one. With a sound piece, a film, scenographic elements, and the geometric patterned wall enhanced by the kinetic effect of shifting lights, the installation invited people to reimagine relationships between humans and natural environments, presenting new ways of thinking about material culture, where digital design, craftsmanship and waste can coexist.