Salt's Deviant Tongue: Hodson and Haloba Disrupt Mineral's Neutrality
In a significant essay published in the Canadian art magazine esse, author Marucci-Campbell explores how artists Abi Hodson and Anawana Haloba utilize the tongue to confront the notion of salt's purity. Hodson's piece "Salt Tongues" (2026), part of her solo exhibition "Salt Lick" at Concordia University, draws inspiration from her residency at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg in 2025. Haloba's video "Lamentations" (2006-10) depicts her tracing salt grains with her tongue, while her installation "Close-Up" (2013-16) enhances the sound of the tongue interacting with salt. The essay links these artworks to theoretical ideas and examines the connections between salt production and enslavement, referencing Mary Prince's 1831 autobiography and contemporary slavery in South Korean salt farms, advocating for a reparative connection to the landscape.
Key facts
- Abi Hodson's 'Salt Tongues' (2026) are hand-sculpted from salt and water slurry, curing until surfaces pucker.
- Hodson's solo exhibition 'Salt Lick' was held at Concordia University's EV Building in Montréal in 2026.
- Hodson attended a 2025 artist residency at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, inspired by the city's salt-mining history.
- Anawana Haloba's 'Lamentations' (2006-10) is a single-channel video of the artist tracing salt granules with her tongue.
- Haloba's installation 'Close-Up' (2013-16) features the sound of her tongue scraping salt, which she calls 'brutal.'
- The essay references Mary Prince's 1831 autobiography describing enslaved labor in salt ponds in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
- The essay cites reports of slavery in South Korean salt farms in 2015.
- Theoretical references include Kyla Wazana Tompkins's 'deviant matter,' Mel Y. Chen's 'animacy hierarchy,' and Rizvana Bradley's 'Anteaesthetics.'
Entities
Artists
- Abi Hodson
- Anawana Haloba
- Mary Prince
Institutions
- Concordia University
- Museum der Moderne Salzburg
- The National Museum of Norway
- Trondheim kunstmuseum
- esse
Locations
- Montréal
- Canada
- Salzburg
- Austria
- Oslo
- Norway
- Trondheim
- Grand Turk
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- South Korea