The Salz River
In the December of 2023 I moved into hamlet above a tiny village called Sougraigne in the Aude Valley of south-western France.
The hamlet was not far at all from the source of a river called Salz. As the Mae suggests, the river is salty. It’s rare and magical as the source comes out of the mountain slope, seemingly in the middle of nowhere and is incredibly salty… Something to do with the continental plate of Iberia meeting with the continent of Europe many millions of years ago and pushing some salt below the ground. The underground river tops up on this subterranean salt and brings it to the surface.
It was a sunny, warm autumn day and I decided to explore the river a little further down from its source.
I scrambled down a slope through some thick forest - only to discover an easy trail on the other side of the river. It felt like I was in another world. The sunlight was streaming through the autumn leaves and the breeze was making it all shimmer. I jumped in one of the rock pools and felt like the luckiest person in the world to have this beautiful scene all to myself.
The pictures I took on that day inspired this artwork.
The Salz River is one of my favourite bodies of water to visit when I seek clarity.
The original artwork lives with its patrons in North Carolina, USA
In the December of 2023 I moved into hamlet above a tiny village called Sougraigne in the Aude Valley of south-western France.
The hamlet was not far at all from the source of a river called Salz. As the Mae suggests, the river is salty. It’s rare and magical as the source comes out of the mountain slope, seemingly in the middle of nowhere and is incredibly salty… Something to do with the continental plate of Iberia meeting with the continent of Europe many millions of years ago and pushing some salt below the ground. The underground river tops up on this subterranean salt and brings it to the surface.
It was a sunny, warm autumn day and I decided to explore the river a little further down from its source.
I scrambled down a slope through some thick forest - only to discover an easy trail on the other side of the river. It felt like I was in another world. The sunlight was streaming through the autumn leaves and the breeze was making it all shimmer. I jumped in one of the rock pools and felt like the luckiest person in the world to have this beautiful scene all to myself.
The pictures I took on that day inspired this artwork.
The Salz River is one of my favourite bodies of water to visit when I seek clarity.
The original artwork lives with its patrons in North Carolina, USA
In the December of 2023 I moved into hamlet above a tiny village called Sougraigne in the Aude Valley of south-western France.
The hamlet was not far at all from the source of a river called Salz. As the Mae suggests, the river is salty. It’s rare and magical as the source comes out of the mountain slope, seemingly in the middle of nowhere and is incredibly salty… Something to do with the continental plate of Iberia meeting with the continent of Europe many millions of years ago and pushing some salt below the ground. The underground river tops up on this subterranean salt and brings it to the surface.
It was a sunny, warm autumn day and I decided to explore the river a little further down from its source.
I scrambled down a slope through some thick forest - only to discover an easy trail on the other side of the river. It felt like I was in another world. The sunlight was streaming through the autumn leaves and the breeze was making it all shimmer. I jumped in one of the rock pools and felt like the luckiest person in the world to have this beautiful scene all to myself.
The pictures I took on that day inspired this artwork.
The Salz River is one of my favourite bodies of water to visit when I seek clarity.
The original artwork lives with its patrons in North Carolina, USA
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