Under a microscope, salt forms tiny cubic crystals. In this project, those cubes are reimagined as mischievous little characters from the auntieverse. Developed for a campaign by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board to “make salt visible,” the artworks transform three beloved hawker dishes: fishball noodle soup, mee siam and Indian rojak, into playful environments inhabited by cube-shaped sodium creatures.
These tiny characters gather wherever salt is most concentrated, lounging, splashing and causing a bit of chaos in the saltiest parts of each dish. Their presence makes the invisible visible. In every scene, aunties encounter the sodium creatures in humorous face-offs that communicate a simple idea: salt itself is not the enemy, but excess can be.
Growing up, aunties were the quiet guardians of the family’s well-being, often expressing care through food. This project draws on that cultural role, inviting viewers to look again at familiar dishes and to notice the sodium quietly hiding within them.
seeing salt with aunties
The works are exhibited at ION Orchard B2 Metro Walkway from 12–18 March as part of the “Gallery of Hidden Salt.”
exhibited works
The project was developed by referencing photographs taken of the culturally specific dishes, together with concept sketches by niceaunties. These were combined with visual material from the auntieverse archive built over the past three years, forming the foundation for the artworks.
Fishball noodles
Set in a Chinese kitchen, aunties stare in shock as sodium creatures frolic inside a bowl of fishball noodle soup. They swim, sunbathe and slide across the clear broth, turning the soup into a playful water park. A cat casually enjoys a fishball nearby, watching the unexpected scene unfold.
Inspired by the energy of a Bollywood dance-off, sodium creatures emerge from the rich rojak sauce to face off against tiny aunties and ingredients on a hawker centre table. Giant Indian aunties observe the dramatic scene with curiosity as the lively encounter unfolds.
indian rojak
Inspired by seaside picnics at East Coast Park, Malay aunties ride in a boat filled with mee siam while a towering wave of gravy rises behind them. Shielding themselves with an umbrella, they confront the salty tide. A reminder that gravy may be delicious, but perhaps not too much.
