SALT TAX features small-scale salt impressions of a 3D model of the German Reichstag mounted on an aluminium profile.

Salt is essential for human survival. White and crystalline, it is both life-giving and potentially harmful: while necessary, excessive consumption dehydrates the body and strains the kidneys. 

Historically, salt held immense material and political value. For centuries it was more precious than gold. The English word ‘salary’ derives from the Latin ‘salarium’, the salt ration given to Roman soldiers. State monopolies and salt taxes further inflated its value, disproportionately burdening low-income populations. In pre-modern France, the Gabelle became a symbol of social inequality. 

Because few organisms can survive in highly saline environments, salt has long been used to preserve food by drawing out water.

But why are certain things preserved, protected, or conserved,  and who ultimately benefits?

Salt Tax

2026

salt-starch impressions mounted on an aluminium profile 

100 x 3 x 2 cm