The Living Blue
This page is dedicated to my curiosity about the process of dyeing with blue. Through 2026, I discovered sukumo, the Japanese process of natural blue, and my learning gradually became a form of comic. Now, a 15-page story in graphite illustrations, it follows the stages of producing blue from indigo leaves, and is occasionally interrupted by etching prints depicting figures engaged in the process.
The intention of the comic is to be hand-bound in indigo-dyed cloth, with a cloth casing, alongside the collection of prints. The comic itself remains in graphite, with occasional watercolour introduced at key stages of the process — green for the raw leaves, black as they decay, and blue as the dye is finally put to use.
Printmaking was intended to play a larger role, as another technical process that I felt parallels, but I couldn’t deny how immediate drawing is. The comic is therefore unconventional, appearing between a sketchbook and an instruction manual, although it is less concerned with teaching than making the labour visible and the knowledge more readily available, especially for those who may not experience indigo-dyeing.
