Spit Crystal

BY INÉS CÁMARA LERET

A healthy individual produces between 0.75 and 1.5 litres of saliva a day, and, whilst 99.5% of this clear and odourless fluid is water the remaining 0.5% provides an incredible insight on who we are, our biological blueprint.

Accompanying this is a material that Homer defined as a divine substance and that Plato described as especially dear to the gods known as salt. Its prolific use across civilisations and throughout time evidences mankind’s sheer dependency upon the existence of this material. A material without which saliva would cease to exist.

Spit Crystal was the result of a two month journey, commissioned by Science Gallery London, to study the potential of saliva alongside salivary researchers and crystallography experts based at Kings College London. The research produced was displayed alongside a large-scale replica of the crystal grown from the artist’s spit at Kings College London following the saline composition found in saliva.