Leaving a dress in the Dead Sea for 2 years causes this
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A Work of SaltA Work of Salt

Leaving a dress in the Dead Sea for 2 years causes this

Israeli artist Sigalit Landau transforms a 1920s-style black gown into a shimmering, salt-covered piece of art

By Gabe Friedman 26 August 2016, 4:33 am 15 Edit
Israeli artist Sigalit Landau left a black dress in the Dead Sea, allowing it to crystallize. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)
Israeli artist Sigalit Landau left a black dress in the Dead Sea, allowing it to crystallize. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)

JTA — Two years — that’s all it took to transform a 1920s-style black gown into a shimmering, salt-covered piece of art.

Israeli artist Sigalit Landau submerged a dress — a replica of the traditional Hasidic one worn by the character Leah in the seminal Yiddish play “The Dybbuk” — into the Dead Sea in 2014 and captured its evolution over time in photographs. The sea’s salt-rich waters crystallized the dress, changing it from a “symbol associated with death and madness into the wedding dress it was always intended to be,” in the words of a press release describing an exhibition of her photos.

The images, some of which are shown below, are on display at the Marlborough Contemporary museum in London until Sept. 3.

This is not the first time Landau has left something in the Dead Sea — check out some of her other works here.

Israeli artist Sigalit Landau's work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)
Israeli artist Sigalit Landau’s work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)

 

Israeli artist Sigalit Landau's work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)
Israeli artist Sigalit Landau’s work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)

 

Israeli artist Sigalit Landau's work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)
Israeli artist Sigalit Landau’s work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)

 

Israeli artist Sigalit Landau's work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)
Israeli artist Sigalit Landau’s work of art in the Dead Sea. (Courtesy of Marlborough Contemporary)
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