Manifestationen: Wanderlust. Sharing of reflective things resonante
Indigo is more than a colour, it is a substance, a metaphor for life and interconnectedness of all in existence, a conceptual space with historical, social, political, philosophical, spiritual, and artistic aspects. Transferring blue – the color of the sea and the sky – to textiles is nowadays related to the use of synthetic compounds made from fossil fuel-derived substances on an industrial scale. Cultivating our own indigo is an alternative to this system, an opportunity to explore the usable past and the potential of indigo and to reconnect to the earth and the cycles of nature. The earth’s strength is linked to the energy of plants, the colours they create and stories of human beings.
THE ORIGIN OF BLUE
Long before the blue colours can emerge, the source material must be grown and transformed. At the beginning is the earth that nourishes the plants. As a farmer, Tristan Toé understands his work like a doctor’s work: it’s about observing, learning and passing on knowledge. He works hand-in-hand with the natural cycles to bring balance and diversity to his fields. Whether useful or ornamental, nourishing, healing or poisonous, plants are indispensable as the basis of all human life. They are the subject of scientific and aesthetic consideration, signs and projection objects of communication and finally elements of the design of living spaces. At BIOsain/Waldviertel we grow plants from different parts of the world whose green leaves produce blue colours: Indigofera arrecta, Indigofera suffructicosa, Isatis tinctoria and Persicaria tinctoria.