Salt is an essential element of the human body. The mineral is used in vital functions 鈥 from muscle contractions and nerve impulses to the regulation of water content. In our everyday lives, it is perhaps best-known as a kitchen staple; the apparent consumption in the United States amounted to an estimated Yet salt has been a valuable economic resource for thousands of years, and can be , when ancient Chinese cultures began harvesting the mineral from underground deposits. Solar salt production 鈥撀爓here brine is evaporated in shallow pools 鈥撀爋vertook mining in . 1,200 years later, it remains the main method of extraction.
Augsburg-based photographer聽Tom Hegen (b. 1991) first examined these evaporation sites in the debut photobook Habitat (2018, Kerher Verlag) 鈥撀燼n aerial analysis of the complex relationship humans have with the planet. His documentation of quarries, roads and bridges, each carving out new terrains, offered a fresh perspective: one impossible to see from the ground. Now, Hegen turns exclusively to mineral extraction in Salt Works (2022, Hatje Cantz), a title in which 鈥渢he boundaries between human design and naturally evolved landscapes are blurred,鈥 he writes. “My task is to employ composition and reduction to achieve clarity about what we have designed on the ground.”
By 2019, according to figures from the 聽, over 70% of the Earth had been directly altered. From Hegen鈥檚 aerial vantage point, viewers are invited to consider a sense of global responsibility. Figures are reduced to insignificant flecks, vehicles blotted against the road. These photographs reveal collisions between natural and man-made, where vast geographies have been redefined by networks of artificially constructed shallow ponds. It’s an approach reminiscent of Edward Burtynsky (b. 1955), whose ongoing Anthropocene series captures the indelible impact of industry from the air.
What鈥檚 perhaps most striking about these images is their colour palette. Criss-crossed patterns of powder blue and navy are intersected by dirt tracks. Mustard waterways resemble bacteria beneath a microscope. Otherworldly pools stand out in mauve and blush red. These hues result from the levels of concentration of salts in the water (), combined with other organisms under the surface. Bacteria such as , for example, turn salt water red. Shrimp turn pink after eating algae, colouring the water the same shade. When viewed from above, Hegen’s shots look like abstract Colour Field paintings.
The photographer’s background in graphic design is evident: geometric lines, block colours and shapes are the focus, visual elements are reduced down to the bare essentials. 鈥淭he human need to subject everything to a structure,鈥 the artist writes, 鈥渕akes us all designers of our environment.鈥 Salt Works (2022) reveals the impact of this process across over 150 images. It is聽both strikingly beautiful and alarming.
Tom Hegen, Salt Works
Hatje Cantz |
Words: Megan Jones
Image Credits:
1. N掳TSSIII_14 from THE SALT SERIES III, United States, 2021 漏 Tom Hegen
2. N掳TSSIII_34 from THE SALT SERIES II, Australia, 2019 漏 Tom Hegen
3. N掳TSSI_02 from THE SALT SERIES I, France, 2018 漏 Tom Hegen
4. N掳TSSII_08 from THE SALT SERIES II, Australia, 2019 漏 Tom Hegen
5. N掳TSSIII_01 from THE SALT SERIES III, United States, 2021 漏 Tom Hegen
