16 September 2014

A day spent exploring an abandoned salt mine in the region of the Nullarbor Plain, on the south coast of Western Australia, discovered after traveling in the desert for two months: that is how SALT, the book published by the Australian photographer Emma Phillips at the end of 2013, was born. The photographs document the deserted landscape of the disused mine with minimal framings, following the essential forms of the mounds of salt and the occasional interruptions in that uniform white produced by the industrial structures left on the now lifeless site. Although the place has been photographed in a way that lets its physical forms emerge naturally, the colors and the total absence of life turn the meaning of what is shown on its head: the torrid heat of that region seems to become a polar chill, the salt turns into snow and the unreal atmosphere of the mine provides an opportunity to reflect on industrial exploitation and the fragility of the Australian terrain.