“This was water” art exhibit presents Utah without Great Salt Lake

OGDEN, Utah (ABC4) — A new interactive art exhibit about the environmental crisis around the Great Salt Lake by local artists Kellie Bornhoft and Carey Campbell is opening in Dumke Arts Plaza in Ogden.

In a press release, Campbell described the piece as imagining a “not-so-distant future in which we will look out over a dry lakebed and tell our children of the thriving habitat that once was, perhaps telling them, ‘This was water.’”

The sculptures are modeled after gypsum crystals, or “dirty diamonds,” that form in the lakebed as the water levels go down, according to the artists. Bornhoft described them as “little tombstones that poke up, these really beautiful artifacts of loss.”

According to the description of the piece on the Shaw Gallery website:

“These beautiful artifacts foretell dire consequences. Toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury also rest in the lakebed. As the lake continues to lose water, we risk the toxins becoming airborne and poisoning all living beings in proximity to the lake.”

The Great Salt Lake is facing a crisis. It is shrinking, and as it dries up, it poses threats to birds, the broader environment, and the health of Utah residents.

The sculptures use lidar (light detection and ranging) technology on, which responds to people as they come closer to each sculpture rock mound, flickering lights and playing audio from speakers. According to the artists, the interactive installation “invites reflection upon our relationship with this fascinating and fragile inland sea.”

The installation was built with the help of Weber State University students, and it was funded by WSU’s Matthew S. Browning Design Lab. Bornhoft and Campbell are faculty members at Weber State University.

The interactive and immersive art exhibit is free to the public and runs May 16 through April 30. There will be special live performances on May 16, September 5, and November 7 at 6p.m.

For more information, visit the Shaw Gallery website.