Friday 19 January 2018

Ainokeshiki - indigo fading project



I took part in this indigo cloth fading art project - Ainokeshiki.  I faded my piece of indigo on the back windowsill of the Rover 75, so it was driven thousands of miles around the UK over several months. I got this message today - 'After a week of preparation, everyone’s cloths are hung and ready for the opening of Ai no Keshiki-Indigo Views tomorrow!  The installation is up through 1/28, and we will be posting images each day on Instagram using the hashtags #ainokeshiki and #awaculture.'  UPDATE - there's a video of the installation on youtube now -



I couldn't add to the instagram photos earlier, because I didn't have a phone that could take photos until recently.  When the cloth comes back to me, I'll put it back in the box and take a photo of where it was.

Awa Indigo Art Project Ai no Keshiki - Indigo Views Call for Participants! All info below!
“Keshiki” in Japanese commonly refers to a scenic view or landscape, but it also refers to the moments of wabi-sabi found in a tea bowl, a whisk, a tea scoop or any of the other tools used in the tea ceremony. These “keshiki” are often points of unintentional patina accumulated through the process of making or use over time. As moments of sensation created between materials, people, and time, these “views” are both an internal indication and external manifestation of who we are and how we sense the ways in which we change over time.
The Awa Indigo Art Project Ai no Keshiki - Indigo Views is looking for 300 people to spend 5 months living with a small length of cloth dyed with the indigo from Tokushima. Over this time, sharing the same space, light, and air, the cloth will slowly fade to create a new keshiki or view of this historical dye based on each individual’s experience.
The resulting cloths, somewhere between a photogram and memory, will be collected in December for a large-scale installation at Tokushima’s Bunka-no-Mori, to create yet a new view of Tokushima’s historical indigo.
Our Plan:
- Have participants “live” with a length of cloth through early-mid December 2017
- Each participant will receive a length of dyed cloth and a specially made box for placing the cloth in for fading.
- Participants should place their cloth in the box and put the box somewhere where it will be exposed to light and air circulation.
- Participants may carry their box with them or move it from place if they like.
- Participants in Tokushima will be sent undyed cloth that they can take to a number of dye studios in the region to dye for themselves if they wish.
- Each box is 35cm wide x 35cm tall x 2cm deep (14” x 14” x ¾”)
- The boxes are made of cardboard so are not meant for outdoor use or exposure to rain.
- Our hope is that with exposure to light and air of each participant’s space, each cloth will show selective fading.
- Send the faded cloth back to Tokushima in early December 2017 for the installation in January 2018.
- After the installation, each cloth will be returned to participants.

How to Participate:
- Application timeline:
May 29, 2017 (Monday) – June 26, 2017 (Monday)

- Number of Participants:
300 people on a first-come, first-serve basis

- To participate please send the following information to: tokushimabunkashinkouka@pref.tokushima.jp
- Name
- Address (including country)
- Age
- Occupation
- Email address
- Be sure to include “Indigo Views” in the subject line.

- Participants will be contacted no later than the end of June with more specific information about the project, their cloth and box, the overall timing of the project, and return shipping information for their cloth.
Awa Indigo Art Project Ai no Keshiki (Indigo Views) is an art project developed and led by Rowland Ricketts. Participation is voluntary and the artist and Tokushima Prefecture are not responsible for any issues arising from your involvement in this project.

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