Blood, sweat and salt

From one corner of the Stamp Gallery, light shines. Its source is not the sun’s rays or dull fluorescent bulbs. Instead, the glow comes from a simple stack of fabric embedded with lights. But, of course, there’s a catch.

“I did a project a number of years ago in which I created batteries from sweat,” said multimedia artist Olivia Robinson. “I wanted to continue that, so I thought, ‘Why not sell the sweat itself as an exchange medium?’”

In case that wasn’t clear: The lights run on sweat.

Yet the perspiration-powered textiles are only one portion of Robinson’s “Salt Market” exhibit, a sort of trippy blast from the past that reminds viewers of simpler times through three separate pieces of art. Crafted as an homage to the value of labor, and how it becomes power, the pieces speak to audiences who take the time to look past the strangeness of the exhibit, which opens today.

“Salt Market” is based on the past, specifically post-war America, which inspired each piece in a different manner.

“It’s a work that I created 100 years ago, before my birth,” Robinson said. “Given that I created it so long ago, yet I was able to use the technology of today, the piece sort of melds both time periods.”

The results of Robinson’s inspiration decorate not only the gallery but the rest of the student union — 192 hand-painted posters that hang on various walls. These posters display a series of five-word poems, which include words such as “share,” “work,” “progress” and “science.”

Robinson was not an expert at poster-painting when she began work on the exhibit. She spent a short time studying with a local Baltimore man who continues to create his own work.

“The style of hand painting just looks so much more animated and rich to me, so getting to know someone who could create these things merely by muscle memory was amazing,” she said.

Inside the gallery are the rest of “Salt Market’s” elements, including a cart Robinson created from a tricycle.

“In the cart I used to sell salted products like peanuts and sunflower seeds, which were salted with my own sweat,” Robinson said, explaining the exhibition’s name, “Salt Market.”

Weirdness aside, the cart backs Robinson’s general theme of the power of sales, as well as the labor that goes behind it. She has displayed a video of a woman sweating next to the cart in order to reinforce this idea.

As if the subject matter weren’t enough, the use of multimedia also set Robinson apart from the typical artists who appear in the Stamp Gallery. Robinson said she feels as if there are fewer restrictions when she uses a variety of media, making it easier to explore her own ideas.

The success of the exhibit, though, is at the mercy of the students.

“I have no idea [how students will respond],” Robinson said. “I think there will be some curiosity because the Stamp is covered in posters, and hopefully these posters are provocative enough for students to go inside.”