Elsa Salonen
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I Dive in the Ocean as in a Prayer

ochres, plastic debris and sea salt collected from the shores of the Caribbean Sea - Colombia, alum crystal on glass, metal stands
(on the floor: sand, seashells, plastic debris and sea salt collected from the same shores, alum crystal)
2021, 180x250 cm

During her artist-in-residence Salonen collected ochres and plastic debris drifted ashore from the Colombian beaches of the Caribbean Sea. These materials she ground into pigments that were used, together with sea salt and alum, to paint an underwater landscape of a bleaching coral reef on glass. ‘I Dive in the Ocean as in a Prayer’ celebrates underwater beauty while asking for strength to protect it. 

Thanks:
Thematic consultancy / coral bleaching: Helmut Schuhmacher, emeritus professor of aquatic ecology, Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Project location / materials: artist-in-residence Puerto Contemporáneo / El Kruce, Cartagena, 2018 and El Salar de Galerazamba, Colombia, 2020
Exhibition views: Ama Gallery, Helsinki, 2021