When one first looks at Motoi Yamamoto’s salt installation, there is some sort of light and temporary feeling lingering within the installation space. In order to fully understand his works, one have to be in the space in order to fully experience the vast amount of feelings contained within the works of the artist. The only material used was white salt. The whiteness of the tiny transparent salt particles is what gives the works their transient, peaceful, fleeting and airy vibes. 

When tiny small crystal-like salt particles are placed together in large amounts, it becomes white in colour. Motoi Yamamoto draws the patterns using white colour salt in a given space. White is a colour that portrays the idea of space. White space, many times referred to as negative space, is the portion of a page left unmarked, the portion that is left blank, with nothing. 

Space is something that is very prominent in Motoi Yamamoto’s work. The concept of the exhibition revolves around the idea of Space. The concept of space then evolves into two forms; Space Between and Space Within. The word Within refers to something internal. It refers to something that is contain inside or indoor. It could be like memories in the mind, experiences or feelings in the heart. Within refers to a space that is enclosed. To be within something, it has to be surrounded by it. Whereas for the word Between, it is a connection between two points. Between usually expresses a reciprocal relationship of two person or two things, whether it is close and dense with less space in between or apart and distant with more space in between. Spaces between can reveal the level of secrecy and intimacy between two person or things. It could also be an intermediate space or time between two objects. The word between means combination of two things; between them. 

Motoi Yamamoto started creating these salt installation after his sister passed away suffering from brain cancer. After the death of his sister, there is both a physical and psychological space between them. A space between the living and the dead. As he works on his salt installation within a space of an enclosed room, he is also building a space; a space within his own mind. That space is an intimate space, which only he can access. As he slowly uses the salt to form a labyrinth like a passage way of connection. He is slowly tracing and following its path as he returns to his memory space, which gradually reveals the times he was with his late sister. His art is like a healing process for him, not to preserve the memories, but to touch and connect with a precious moment in his memories, which cannot be attained through pictures or writings. This connection helps to close up the space between him and his sister.