mary rose mcclain

image of super8mm film with blue salt and ink stains

Salax

2024 | 13 x 7 x 13 in | projector, super 8 film, salt, ink, fabric, geranium and winterleaf oil, glue, shell, polymer clay

In Ancient Rome, a man in love was called a Salax. He was too in love to realize that he was over-salting the food.

Salax started as a superstition. A broken Super 8 projector shapeshifted into a creature soaked in salt and ink. A sel-portrait.

As you approach Salax, you are invited to and guided through a multi-sensory experience of touch, scent, taste, sight, and sound. This sculptural piece experiments with the material transformation of Super-8mm film, the symbolic significance of salt (salt as initiation, preservation, hospitality, wisdom, magic, captial, covenant, etc.), along with the purpose of waste.

What can become of the broken?