ΞΥΠΟΛΥΤΕΣ

Daphne Portokaloglou

Salt has long been an essential cultural and economic resource, sustaining communities and shaping local economies throughout history. In both Greece and Lanzarote, salt production has played a central role, intertwined with regional identities.

In Lanzarote, salt was exported to sustain the Spanish empire’s fishing and preservation industries. Similarly, Greece’s salt pans—especially those of Lefkada—were essential to Mediterranean trade, since salt was and still is a key commodity. In both regions, the primary labour of salt production was carried out by women, whose contributions to the economy remained largely unmentioned and unacknowledged.

The triptych consists of 35mm photographs of the largest and one of the few remaining active saltpans in Lanzarote, Salinas Del Janubio, paired with archival images of Greek female salt workers from the 70s.

This work honours the countless women throughout history and in the present whose labour has kept families, communities, and economies alive.

For the barefooted women of the past and for all who continue to work tirelessly today. May our labour never go unnoticed again.