Indelible Blue: Indigo Across the Globe

True Blue

A new exhibition explores the beauty and history of indigo.

FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM CURATORS HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THE WORLD OF INDIGO FROM A HISTORICAL AND ARTISTIC PERSPECTIVE. Indigo is much more than a shade of the color blue. For some artists, it’s an encompassing process that includes growing the plants and making the dye, and using it to create final works. For others it’s a representation of the past, a way to honor ancestors.

Indelible Blue: Indigo Across the Globe is the result of a collaboration between the Museum's history and art curators, as well as the expertise and object loans from individuals and institutions in New Mexico and beyond.

The exhibition explores the history, techniques, and movement of indigo, tracing the many regions and cultures that have used this elusive dye for millennia. Indelible Blue features artwork and historical objects from Asia, South Asia, Africa, The Americas, and New Mexico. The exhibition also includes works that reflect on indigo’s historical, ecological, and spiritual significance.

Artists featured in the exhibition include Rowland Ricketts, Chinami Ricketts, Nikesha Breeze, Gasali Adeyemo, Laura Anderson Barbata, Eduardo Portillo and Mariá Eugenia Dávila, Hiroyuki Shindo, Yukiyo Kawano, Scott Sutton and more.

ON VIEW

INDELIBLE BLUE: INDIGO ACROSS THE GLOBE

January 8 – April 24, 2022

Indelible Blue was conceived after Albuquerque Museum Curator Josie Lopez, Ph.D, viewed the documentary film Blue Alchemy, by Corrales filmmaker Mary Lance, which tracks the history of indigo from ancient past to today—a journey around the globe.

Indigo, made from a variety of plants that produce the chemical compound indican, dates back 6,200 years. The labor-intensive process of extracting indigo dye is deeply intertwined with its history and products. Albuquerque Museum curators long considered how to best present this rich historical and contemporary material, from how it travels across the globe to how it has influenced New Mexico culture and artists. The Museum’s History Department connected with curators at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of International Folk Art; and Museum curators looked specifically for artists whose use of indigo is central to their work, as well as those who use indigo for either outright or underlying political reasons.

One notable item that is a direct product of that collaborative spirit is the chief’s blanket on loan from the Maxwell Museum. One of only a few in existence today, the circa-1860 spun and dyed wool is a stunning example of Diné weavers’ use of indigo, says Curator of History Leslie Kim.

Some of the contemporary indigo artwork featured in the exhibition explores the history and the process of indigo production. For some artists, such as Rowland and Chinami Ricketts who seek a purity to the color, indigo is a lifestyle. They use natural materials and traditional process to create textiles. The artists grow the plants and produce their own indigo dye. Taos artist Nikesha Breeze explored her connection to indigo from South Carolina enslaved ancestors who were involved in the production of indigo. Her installation uses blue jeans created for one market, re-exported to Africa as used goods, and then re-

Left: Katsushika Hokusai, Picture Book on the Use of Coloring, first volume 1848, woodblock printed book; ink on paper, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift,2013, 2013.881. © Public Domain

Right: African Chief’s Garment; early to mid-20th century; handspun cotton and indigo dye; 82 x 57 in.; courtesy of the Museum of International Folk Art, gift of Lloyd E. Cotsen and the Neutrogena Corporation; A.1995.93.39

Opposite left: Laura Anderson Barbata in collaboration with the Brooklyn Jumbies, Chris Walker, and Jarana Beat; Intervention: Indigo, Brooklyn, New York, 2015, photo by Rene Cervantes

Indigofera spp. Isatis spp. Polygonum tinctorium

Strobilanthes spp. Philenoptera spp. Marsdenia tinctoria

Wrightia spp. Justicia spp. Eupatorieae and yangua

Distribution of different varieties of indigo around the world. Adapted from: Natural Dyes: Sources, Tradition, Technology and Science. Archetype publications. Cardon, Dominique (2007).