Salt in the Sea, Acid on the Land

Year2026

TypeInstallation, Performance

Made withLouisa Mammeri

About the work

This project draws its inspiration from the Malay proverb: Garam di laut, asam di darat, bertemu dalam satu belanga — salt in the sea, acid on the land, they will meet in one pot. Unfolding across two parts for the Pattani Biennale 2026, the work is both a public procession and a living installation centred on a series of bio-powered clocks fuelled by botanical produce submerged in brines. The project began on August 8 as an opening performance for the Biennale. The procession started at Pattani's central clock tower, where we turned the hands of our own clock backward before setting off along the Pattani River with our cart of fermenting jars. Participants walked, tasted, and listened to audio recordings of people who work alongside the forests and seashores. Along the way, the flow of everyday life merged with the performance—children jumping into the river and a group of elderly women doing a collective workout to high-speed music. The salt bed used during the procession was later returned to the sea at Pattani Bay, while the ferments continue their journey in the installation. This work was developed for the Pattani Biennale and presented as a performance and installation. Video documentation was later screened during the Food Art Fair in London.