© Carolyn Shepherd

The Angle of Repose forms when single grains of salt are in continual flow.  Over time, a conical shape is formed.  Gravity pulls the outer layers to the ground.  Solidity is created and causes the form to grow.  I see this as a comparison of the ability of human beings to thrive post-trauma.

This short film shows five frames slowly panning a single image of a pile of rock salt inside a mine.  Text is overlaid onto the frames that allude to the strength of the structure as a comparison to overcoming trauma.  There is an accompanying soundtrack of digitally altered sounds of the rock mining process that creates a continuous eerie music.  The conical shape of the pile is called the angle of repose that forms when crystals slide down to create a solidified structure. 

It was inspired by finding the pile under a crack in the mining conveyor belt where small grains of salt dust had slowly leaked and built into the angle of repose.  Left undisturbed amidst busy mining activity the grains had found the strength to hold together and create stability.