Indigo Threads

We approached this year-long installation from a holistic, contemporary lens, taking the museum visitor on an educational and cross-cultural journey of indigo. Various raw materials like indigo seeds, cakes, powder, yarns and finished goods take the visitor on a plant to pigment journey. 'Ruminations,' created with artisan indigo dyers in Bhuj, India, is a wild piecework exploration of indigo scraps from Japan, India and West Africa, creating a contemporary, cross-cultural statement of migration of the dye. The pieces were joined employing a Japanese boro mending technique and numerous kantha stitches. Varying yarns create textural interest, and stitches in sweeping waves, depicting swirling water in the vat, creates movement. A film, showing the process, accompanies the installation. We also designed and developed indigo kimonos, shibori silk tops, journals and candles for the museum gift shop.