Exhibition dates see below
This fine traveling exhibition spans the rich history of indigo dying. There are examples of linen and wool burial cloths from Roman Egypt, 16th-18th century domestic textiles and clothing dyed in India and imported to Europe by the East India Company. The historical journey of indigo is traced through the rediscovery of indigo discharge techniques by William Morris for his chintzes, and its part in the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1870s-1880s,to the manufacture of synthetic indigo in the late 19th century. The 20th and 21st centuries are represented by the story of blue denim as it is continually re-invented and re-interpreted by both high-and high street-fashion.
The process of indigo dyeing is explored through a display that examines the alchemical process of working with indigo, and includes dye balls, dye samples, botanical drawings and videos of cloth being dyed in different parts of the world. Its mysterious transformations have long been steeped in myth and magic and the show features indigo-dyed cloth with ritualistic and talismanic meanings. There are also textiles and clothing from China, Japan, Thailand, Nigeria, Senegal to India, Indonesia, Europe and the Middle East (Yemen, Egypt, Oman and Syria). The wide range of decorative techniques includes hand-drawn batiks, stenciled designs, paste and wax resist cloths, blue printing, indigo discharge, ikat, plangi (tie dye).
In addition to historical textiles the exhibition includes the work of many contemporary craftspeople from the UK, Japan, India, Bangladesh and West Africa, illustrating the survival – and adaptation to contemporary fashion – of indigo.
See also: Indigo Dyeing in Mali
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery & Hove Museum & Art Gallery Admission free. 29 September 2007 - 6 January 2008 http://www.virtualmuseum.info
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Opening Times... Tuesday 10am-7pm Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday 2-5pm Bank Holiday Mondays 10am-5pm
Hove Museum & Art Gallery Opening Times... Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday 2-5pm
