Ruth Lyons
, Irish, b.1983
Title
SalariumDate2014
MediumIrish rock salt
Dimensions
14 x 22 x 38 cm
10 x 12 x 15 cm
22 x 8 x 22 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2019
Object numberNGI.2019.323
DescriptionSince 2010, Lyons has carved rocks of industrial salt into crystalline vessels of varying sizes, shapes and colours. The natural material is acquired by the artist from the only salt mine on the island of Ireland, located below Carrickfergus in County Antrim. Formed in the Triassic Period, when a land-locked sea evaporated over millions of years, the salt seam extends towards western Russia. It is the source of thousands of tonnes of salt extracted annually for industrial uses such as road gritting. Lyons’s bowl-like sculptures evoke essential human activities such as collecting, storing and consuming.Exhibition HistoryShaping Ireland: Landscapes in Irish Art, National Gallery of Ireland, 20 April - 7 July 2019
New Perspectives. Acquisitions 2011 - 2020, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 11 May - 2 August 2021