/ Gyrostasis
The video and photography work Gyrostasis is by artist Franek Wardyński and was created for the SÓL exhibition at the Museum of the Earth, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 2025.
The video shows a slow rotation of salt crystals collected from the interior of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, located in the Salt Lake of Utah. The gentle pink hues in the video reflect the lake’s colouration caused primarily by halophilic microorganisms, such as the algae Dunaliella salina and salt-loving archaea, which produce carotenoid pigments like beta-carotene. The work’s dark background evokes a sense of space and timeless suspension, focusing attention solely on the crystalline forms without distraction.
The video shows a slow rotation of salt crystals collected from the interior of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, located in the Salt Lake of Utah. The gentle pink hues in the video reflect the lake’s colouration caused primarily by halophilic microorganisms, such as the algae Dunaliella salina and salt-loving archaea, which produce carotenoid pigments like beta-carotene. The work’s dark background evokes a sense of space and timeless suspension, focusing attention solely on the crystalline forms without distraction.
The second part of the piece is a photographic triptych presenting a carefully curated collection of salt crystals arranged in formal compositions. These crystals are enlarged to reveal their multidimensionality and imperfections, including tiny fibres and grains of sand embedded within, which can actually promote crystal growth by serving as nucleation points.
Together, the video and triptych explore themes of geological time, material transformation, and suspended presence, extending Robert Smithson’s exploration of earthworks and natural processes through delicate, detailed observation.
Together, the video and triptych explore themes of geological time, material transformation, and suspended presence, extending Robert Smithson’s exploration of earthworks and natural processes through delicate, detailed observation.