INSTALLATION RESEARCH

from the small bit of digging i've done on my found object, i've read that it isn't uncommon for Japanese restaurants to keep a small bowl of salt outside their restaurants to either attract customers or ward off evil spitits.

one internet source says "salt was put outside geisha places and other drinking establishments for good luck (to bring customers) since in the old days, patrons arrived by horse-drawn carriage or whatever, and the horses like salt, and if the owner put salt outside the door, the horse would stop and lick the salt, the passengers could think about coming in, and voila, business began to boom."

there is a chance that there may be some truth in this story, as it appeared the most in my search, however, i am going to ask around and find out the details of the salt-outside-the-doors origin. the different meaning(s) could change the installation completely. i want to illustrate the bowl's purpose through the installation while keeping its mysticism intact. the piece should be open to interpretation, but grounded in something real and meaningful, as it was originally intended.

time to do some Japanese restaurant hopping...