Salt of the Earth 2024

For me salt is personal, my great-grandfathers and their fathers before them had all worked as open pan salt boilers. Living in salt workers cottages and back-to-back terraced houses, they walked from Moulton village to Winsford salt works along the canal that shipped salt to Liverpool and the World beyond. Village life revolved around church and the work routines of these men, salt affected their health, their families and their living conditions.

 The camaraderie of work and family through salt created a place with a particularly strong community spirit. In this little village there were 3 pubs, village dances, amateur dramatics, maypole dances, rose queens and their very own ‘crow’ fair. The chandelier, being a symbol for significant social gatherings seemed the perfect object to celebrate the lives of these people. I imagine it being ceremonially hung at the commencement of festivities, perhaps the rose queen in crowned below it or maybe it’s the focal point for a traditional dance.