SALT LANDSCAPES CREATED BY CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND TRADITIONAL PRODUCTION METHODS

Abstract

Until recent times, when geology eased the way to salt deposits, salt has been a valuable good with a relevant influence in history, including international commerce and even wars. Industrial revolution and technological advances turned salt into a cheap and widely available product, which consequently led to a deep crisis in traditional salt making.

Nevertheless, for many centuries, man has struggled to find new ways to produce salt, developing imaginative methods that had to adapt to the manner in which the raw material was available, as well as to climate and topography. Factors such as cultural diversity, latitude and concentration of brine contributed to the way the natural landscape was anthropized, having an effect on the size and shape of the sites. Coastal or inland, flat pans or terraced, produced by natural or artificial evaporation, salt-works are among the most extraordinary landscapes created by man.

Today many of the traditional production sites still survive, representing a rich and valuable living heritage. For five years, Mikel Landa and Luke Duggleby have travelled around the world, documenting traditions and processes, and using photography to transmit the visual power of those landscapes and cultures, keeping to the idea that a sustainable future for them is possible.

Keywords

Salt / Landscape / Tradition / Production / Cultural Diversity

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2016 Higher Education Press