The extraction of sea salt is one of the oldest forms of human landscaping, and it is the oldest method of salt production. Salt is a raw material that is now part of our everyday lives, but we rarely ask where it comes from and how it is produced. The Salt Series III explores these manufactured landscapes, their abstract and painterly quality.

Sea salt production sites are found all over the world, usually located around shallow shorelines. The artificially-created ponds shown in The Salt Series III are one of the core elements in sea salt production: the sun and wind then evaporate most of the seawater from the ponds, leaving behind water with a high salt concentration known as brine. Each salt pond has a unique salt density, and the colour of the water indicates the salinity of each pond.

This microscopic alga, also known as the Dunaliella Salina, is eaten by tiny shrimp. As the water becomes too salty, the shrimps disappear, causing the algae to increase and the colour of the ponds to intensify. As a result, the colours can vary from lighter shades of green to vibrant red. Once the ponds have dried out, a crust of salt is left behind. Workers then harvest the salt by delicately lifting the salt crust from the floor.

The strong contrasts and geometric shapes of the salt ponds resemble abstract paintings. Our need to arrange everything in geometric order, regulate, and have control makes us all - in a sense - to designers of our environment. I see myself as a curator, framing the artworks that the presence of humans has created.

This project came together with my partner and helicopter pilot, Lars Gange. Without his excellent skills and dedication, this project would not have been possible.