saltkrystallene

Saltkrystallerne, also known as the Salt Crystals, is a artistic and cultural installation by artist Olafur Eliasson located on the eastern facade of the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum in Aarhus, Denmark. Designed by the Danish-Icelandic artist in collaboration with engineer Ole Werner, it was unveiled in 2018.

The installation is a large, irregularly-shaped crystal made up of white salt crystals that are suspended from the wall. Weighing over 2 metric tons, the crystal cluster is held in place by a cast-iron support framework. When viewed from a distance, the crystal appears to sway and ripple in the wind, giving the impression of a living, breathing entity.

The project was commissioned by the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum as part of its renovation process. Eliasson chose to work with salt crystals as the main material in response to the museum's maritime location, building a connection to the sea and Denmark's maritime history. By incorporating a naturally-occurring element, he sought to create a seamless fusion of nature and art.

The fired- salt material installed will slowly deteriorate over the course of several years, collecting sea spray, wind, and rain. As it deteriorates, salt crystals will fall off the façade, collecting in the ground below. Visitors can observe the crystal lose its shape as it undergoes permanent change, alluding to the uncertainty and fragility of our state of being.

By incorporating changing conditions and weathering processes, Saltkrystallerne introduces an aspect of processual transformation, and explores the boundary between process and product in the visual, experiential, and memorable, returning it into our field of interest via our encounters with these observable changes and organic situations.