Anastasia Potemkina

b. 1984, Moscow. Lives and works in Moscow

Pass Me the Salt, Please, 2019
Site-specific installation, dimensions variable
Сourtesy of the artist

Created specially for the exhibition, the immersive installation by Russian artist Anastasia Potemkina reproduces the look and therapeutic effects of a salt room. Salt therapy, also called halotherapy, is a type of cleansing procedure that reproduces the climate found in natural salt caves and is often used in spa centers. It is believed that air enriched with highly-dispersed aerosols (minute particles) of sodium chloride has a positive effect on the respiratory system because it contains few allergens and pollutants and also has a bactericidal effect. Potemkina goes beyond the exploration of the physical effects of salts and uses them as transmitters of energy, something which crystals are believed to do. Together with the plants in the room, which Potemkina identifies as magnifiers of signals, she creates a system to facilitate a human ability yet to be explored in detail: synesthesia, an emphatic, non-verbal form of communication. If cultivated further, synesthesia could allow us to relate to other-than-human species and objects, achieving a more holistic and accurate understanding of the environment we live in.

Pass Me the Salt, Please includes a set of seven translucent, circular plates displayed on the walls behind the chaise-longues where visitors can lie down. Each is engraved with an image of a plant.These plants have been used since ancient times by various cultures as medicines or anaesthetics, but also for spiritual and religious practices, as a way to achieve a different level of consciousness that allows humans to get the answers they need from the myriad invisible information channels around them. For the artist, the potential for developing heightened perceptual qualities lies dormant within our mental capabilities and is a key sphere to develop in the future.