Lucila Kenny, Naan Rijks and Alex Walker invited me to write a piece for the poetic project Growing Blue.
Growing Blue shows a collection of 102 filter papers and cloths that were used as part of the process of extracting indigo pigment from leaves of the Woad (Isatis tinctoria) plant.
I met Lucila in 2020, in the first period of her working on this magical project. Sometimes I was there when she harvested the leaves, sometimes I was with her in the studio when she rhythmically raised the foam and sometimes smelt the pigment before pouring it into a petri dish. I am very happy to be involved in the presentation of this magical project.
Definitely have a look, Alex Walker has made such a beautiful presentation of it. The blue traces are as small diary notes, very intimate and clear at the same time.
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Growing Blue is published in 2023 by Mumbling Matter — a project highlighting artistic practices that are grounded in resourceful, do-it-yourself and collective methods of production. Mumbling Matter is initiated by Alex Walker and is kindly supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL.