ocean /Indigo — 3rd Space Lab Collective

OCEAN/Indigo

Social Weavers, in progress

This work sample shows work-in-progress of a surface design by our collaborator in the Social Weavers project, Shatrughan Thakur, textile aritst and natural dye expert, India. We shared with Shatrughan images and stories from our exploration of Bolinas with biogogist and bio-designer Tom McKeag in 2014. This prompted Shatrughan to begign creating a narrative as a response to the images and experiences we shared with him. Having never been to Bolinas, Shatrughan is creating an expansive imaginary expression of this place. As he uses natural dyes as a paint medium, he is responsing to the narrative of that place in layers. In this particular work, there will be about 6 to 8 layers after which he will wash in natural ingredients that will allow for all the colours to pop. It is magic for us to see our stories come to life, done with great intent and an awareness, becoming a kind of epistolary practice for us as a dialogue between California and India. In the end these sarrees will wrap the narratives from one land to another around the body. On the second page are completed sarrees that are about the landscape of Bolinas, completed in 2022.