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Artist Leaves Dress In The Dead Sea For 2 Months And It Turns Into Glittering Salt Crystal Masterpiece

For her project titled Salt Bride, Israeli artist Sigalit Landau decided to submerge a black gown in the Dead Sea. The gown spent 2 months in the salt-rich waters in 2014, and as you can see from these stunning pictures, the end result is nothing short of magical.

The project is an eight-part photo series inspired by S. Ansky’s 1916 play titled Dybbuk. The play is about a young Hasidic woman who becomes possessed by the spirit of her dead lover, and Landau’s salt-encrusted gown is a replica of the one worn in the dramatic production of the 1920s.

Landau checked on the black gown various times in order to capture the gradual process of salt crystalisation that you can see in the pictures below. You can also see them at London’s Marlborough Contemporary, where they’ll be on display until September 3rd.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article said that the gown had been submerged for two years, not two months. Sorry for the mistake.

More info: Sigalit Landau | Marlborough Contemporary (h/t: mymodernmet)

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Image credits: Sigalit Landau/Marlborough Contemporary

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Image credits: Sigalit Landau/Marlborough Contemporary

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Image credits: Sigalit Landau/Marlborough Contemporary

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Image credits: Sigalit Landau/Marlborough Contemporary

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Image credits: Shaxaf Haber

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Image credits: Matanya Tausig

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Image credits: Matanya Tausig

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Image credits: Sigalit Landau/Marlborough Contemporary

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What do you think ?

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Pastel Unicorn 8 years ago

That's so cool! I actually wondered whether or not this was possible as a child, it's cool to see your childhood fantasies play out irl :)

40points

Laura Ferguson 8 years ago

Is it weird that this makes me hungry for potato chips?

35points

Ceci Li 8 years ago

hahahahaha...

2points

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Penny Cillin 8 years ago

Reminiscent of what lady passengers wore on the Titanic. This dress and the play are of the very same era as the Titanic. From what cameras have shown us of Titanic remains at ocean's bottom, the result is almost the same as this dress, save the salt, but still preserved in its last living position forever. Both eery and fascinating.

24points

Andrew MB 8 years ago

It cant be the same.... The dead sea is so salty you can float on it without effort

5points

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Curt Bovee 8 years ago

Chuck Wagon here. Wondering if the scrolls may have been found in the pockets ?? (sorry....)

2points

Karen Wesley 8 years ago

This gown is from the 1920s, said on the post on the Facebook page.

0points

Kaylee Blair 8 years ago

This dress is in the style of the 1880's and early 1890's. The titanic era (1912) dresses were much differently shaped, especially if you were wealthy and fashionable enough to afford a berth on the ship. Even servant's clothing that lagged behind fashion by 15 years would not have looked like this.

0points