https://sigridholmwood.co.uk sigridholmwood Mon, 23 Jun 2025 15:50:22 +0000 https://sigridholmwood.co.uk en https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Information Mon, 14 Feb 2022 10:31:30 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Information The Peasant My practice expands painting by addressing its materiality and circulation through the relationship between painting and the figure of the peasant. The figure of the peasant is important as she-who-must-be-excluded in order to construct modernity.(1) This exclusion is both real and symbolic. In representing the peasant, the bourgeois subject constructs the self through what she is not, either denigrating the ‘backward’ peasants or romanticising the ‘old way of life’. Either way, in Western European thinking, the peasant is pushed into a distant past despite the millions of contemporary peasants currently in conflict with modernising projects around the world. Expanded Painting In order to genuinely answer recent calls to expand painting into its networks,(2) one must think painting decolonially. This means that the very notion of what painting is, including representation itself, is up for discussion. The Western European bourgeois tradition will be found to be just one provincial occurrence among many. (3)&nbsp;By expanding painting through its materiality, following the network of histories and interactions, and treating the pigments as actors in themselves, one can begin to paint decolonially. Peasant Painting Amerindian thinking is based on the notion of perspectivalism. (4) In contrast to the dehumanising tendencies of modernity/coloniality which separate nature from culture, Amerindian perspectivalism holds that all things are human (animals, plants, minerals), but what separates them are the differing perspectives articulated by their bodies. Therefore, learning from others involves an attempt to inhabit their point-of-view. (5) I take this Amerindian research methodology into my practice, by growing the plants for pigments. I re-enact the imagined peasant-painter perspective through the interaction with the plants, earths and pigments. Consequently, the painting necessarily expands into performance. In my conception of the peasant-painting, rather than being a passive figure serving to construct the bourgeois, modern subject, the peasant becomes a point-of-view: the peasant paints. https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Potatisatarna-The-Potato-Eaters Mon, 23 Jun 2025 15:50:22 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Potatisatarna-The-Potato-Eaters <img width="3072" height="4080" width_o="3072" height_o="4080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/636a16bebfaa758b60a2c1c38fb053a2f4469606dfaa8c671a3186d3d877a8e0/PXL_20250612_094002231.jpg" data-mid="234930143" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/636a16bebfaa758b60a2c1c38fb053a2f4469606dfaa8c671a3186d3d877a8e0/PXL_20250612_094002231.jpg" /> Potatisätarna (The Potato-Eaters) Röda Sten Konsthall, 13 july - 24 August 2025 Exhibition with Astrid Göransson and Unni Britta Kangas, curated by Amila Puzić and Mia Christersdotter Norman.“Minnet: a story about an apron.” The starting point for this project was when Magdalena Andersson&nbsp; (former prime minister of Sweden, and current leader of the social democrats) wore the Rackeby Folkcostume to the opening of parliament in 2019.&nbsp; This folkcostume is from Skaraborg, the area where my family is from, and I became interested in the reaction it provoked in the local area. I decided to design a new pattern for the apron to go with the Rackeby folkcostume. This one tells the story of my great grandfather, who was born a landless peasent in 1866 but later emigrated to the USA only to return a few years later with the first rubber boots anyone had seen in the area and enough money to by land.It is painted using natural dyes, including madder from Europe, cochineal from the Americas, and cutch from India. The pattern includes Van Gogh’s “peasant shoes”, a pair of rubber boots, and the plant, greater plaintain (plantago major) which spread across the USA with European settlers leading the native Americans to call it “White Men’s Footprints.” A giant handpainted version of this apron was displayed in the “cathedral” of Röda Sten konsthall, while I sent a normal sized version to Magdalena Andersson in the hopes that she wears it to the next opening of parliament - reminding us all of Sweden’s history as an emigrant nation. Project realised with the support of:<img width="2382" height="908" width_o="2382" height_o="908" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9e1e8b720a365a9899e6fe98babbdc360ccdafc9a2a914fdeea1f2e3ae647fe4/Konstnarsnamndens-logotyp-for-webb-med-svart-text.png" data-mid="234930148" border="0" data-scale="27" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9e1e8b720a365a9899e6fe98babbdc360ccdafc9a2a914fdeea1f2e3ae647fe4/Konstnarsnamndens-logotyp-for-webb-med-svart-text.png" />Below: video “Minnet: a story about an apron”, 13 mins, and video stills. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a126d045ab22e1ccad32ca0a0fb57216f007d18b7cda37abc3e2f9866c826f36/maggan.jpg" data-mid="242219023" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a126d045ab22e1ccad32ca0a0fb57216f007d18b7cda37abc3e2f9866c826f36/maggan.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d7787949e3df705a3132d4a68338d2ac05e321acf287eba872e9d19917d3a7b9/mInnet-video-final-torp.jpg" data-mid="242219025" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d7787949e3df705a3132d4a68338d2ac05e321acf287eba872e9d19917d3a7b9/mInnet-video-final-torp.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5a904602fa4a89fd8205e797b7f6c039c350d8177f5c656e9be51b8a07b106de/mInnet-video-final-portable-version-subtitles.jpg" data-mid="242219024" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5a904602fa4a89fd8205e797b7f6c039c350d8177f5c656e9be51b8a07b106de/mInnet-video-final-portable-version-subtitles.jpg" /> <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dca90b123dee87c3c0a5231b5c338866c823b0cb8c17f358ff7ef27718f8c0c8/PXL_20250612_093553118.jpg" data-mid="234930144" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dca90b123dee87c3c0a5231b5c338866c823b0cb8c17f358ff7ef27718f8c0c8/PXL_20250612_093553118.jpg" /><img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5759d3d7510f3476185842716b70b108f14afe9863db583c308058338b2bc3e1/PXL_20250612_0928445771.jpg" data-mid="234931851" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5759d3d7510f3476185842716b70b108f14afe9863db583c308058338b2bc3e1/PXL_20250612_0928445771.jpg" /> <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/40365c34ea664eb57391f186d4937d4a5ed548dca2fe299069d1a5c73eb4c525/PXL_20250612_0937028931.jpg" data-mid="234931854" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/40365c34ea664eb57391f186d4937d4a5ed548dca2fe299069d1a5c73eb4c525/PXL_20250612_0937028931.jpg" /><img width="1920" height="1446" width_o="1920" height_o="1446" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81c9c26f8426b7166a30c8662a46305f07819a0fe481520595abdee9f4b684c3/PXL_20250612_0939233121.jpg" data-mid="234930146" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/81c9c26f8426b7166a30c8662a46305f07819a0fe481520595abdee9f4b684c3/PXL_20250612_0939233121.jpg" /> Fabric hangs in the back printed with a pattern based on an existant apron from the village of Rackeby dating from the late 1700s which is now in the collection of the Nordiska Museet. The paintings insert scenes from my great grandfather’s life into the new pattern that I have designed - “White Men’s Footprints.” <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/439830bfe096d61d64f3c38d93108b9ec6343d4ce2ae79baf4e41d2212793ec8/PXL_20250612_0930237771.jpg" data-mid="234930147" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/439830bfe096d61d64f3c38d93108b9ec6343d4ce2ae79baf4e41d2212793ec8/PXL_20250612_0930237771.jpg" /> <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/19d20465858301b13ed32ac42f2969e32dbf29c84ea6a9f96c4e28df381165af/PXL_20241129_1352307311.jpg" data-mid="234932408" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/19d20465858301b13ed32ac42f2969e32dbf29c84ea6a9f96c4e28df381165af/PXL_20241129_1352307311.jpg" /> <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/24b779968e7b3fd265860bf8047b643fd8ef7a05dde5972fcc78bc1ce58a57e0/PXL_20250612_0930031281.jpg" data-mid="234931853" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/24b779968e7b3fd265860bf8047b643fd8ef7a05dde5972fcc78bc1ce58a57e0/PXL_20250612_0930031281.jpg" /> <img width="3568" height="2676" width_o="3568" height_o="2676" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6faa6a2af2f1a06f96d39cb45fd74daa1860998aaf352954a3c19808b42e5136/poo.jpg" data-mid="234932397" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6faa6a2af2f1a06f96d39cb45fd74daa1860998aaf352954a3c19808b42e5136/poo.jpg" /> “The Alt-right Coprolite”.&nbsp; Paintings and an extra long 8 metre apron based upon the Lloyds Bank coprolite - the world’s largest fossilsed human poo. Folk costume has a history of being used by the right wing to project ethno-nationalist fantasies. This entailed fossiling in culture, which in turn reminds me of this fossilised faeces. I speculate that the far right would love this coprolite since it was made by a viking who ate mostly meat. This is why I name it the alt-right coprolite. The paintings have been painted with an iron rich sand made as a by product from the extraction of phosphates from sewage ash by the company Easy Mining. https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Blue-Wood-Black-Iron Sun, 03 Sep 2023 11:19:22 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Blue-Wood-Black-Iron Blue Wood, Black Iron <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/286c32c754868c1ef06105951e349d9908aa915bc37035e7fe386c57e700bb01/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_1-small.jpg" data-mid="189626968" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/286c32c754868c1ef06105951e349d9908aa915bc37035e7fe386c57e700bb01/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_1-small.jpg" /> Seinäjoki kunsthalle, Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland, 2023 For this exhibition in Kunsthalle Seinäjoki, I researched plant dyeing traditions and peasant culture in Seinäjoki and the surrounding area. While touring local museums, examining the textiles on display and learning about the subject, the colours blue and black colours caught my attention. These colours appear in folk costumes and textiles, particularly in connection with a Lutheran revivalist movement, körttiläisyys. Later the colours became symbols of extreme right and nationalist movements, from the Lapua movement in the 1930s to the current “True Finns”. However, where did the colours blue and black come from? The imagery of the paintings and textile works, and the techniques used, point to the origins of the blue and black dye plants used by the Körrti peasants in the 19th century – indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) and logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum).Their histories take the viewer to India, the Caribbean and the coasts of Central America, and are linked to pirates, colonialism and slave labour. The works point to these colours as products of global colonial trade but also tell histories of working-class solidarity that transcended national and racial boundaries. <img width="1333" height="2000" width_o="1333" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4823325446b7cc46208599fbd155540e91a398ac6037e951119696189acde089/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_9-small.jpg" data-mid="189626976" border="0" data-scale="94" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4823325446b7cc46208599fbd155540e91a398ac6037e951119696189acde089/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_9-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4398f3cfaf4a304ce6c95e6c0b9b6fab4e0f2ec9ca797cafe0deeb828f8d9a2d/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_8-small.jpg" data-mid="189626975" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4398f3cfaf4a304ce6c95e6c0b9b6fab4e0f2ec9ca797cafe0deeb828f8d9a2d/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_8-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3d7060a0f97399666cbdcd530515f6367c3c7673f6cc2d1526935d2bc7cb839a/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_7-small.jpg" data-mid="189626974" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3d7060a0f97399666cbdcd530515f6367c3c7673f6cc2d1526935d2bc7cb839a/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_7-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9dac700ff6116408c7e45f7de1b0a3b6e2d333f6652a87fcf0fe28a61bceff23/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_22-small.jpg" data-mid="189626983" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9dac700ff6116408c7e45f7de1b0a3b6e2d333f6652a87fcf0fe28a61bceff23/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_22-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6ceac8f8a77bacedd6a736001fa84140f558cbc90598b8b06a7d8ead3a7cd9a5/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_12-small.jpg" data-mid="189626979" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6ceac8f8a77bacedd6a736001fa84140f558cbc90598b8b06a7d8ead3a7cd9a5/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_12-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1333" width_o="2000" height_o="1333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6f9c79717ec7a7bba12915555ffbb8a2b8dd2d95c8a89946919d32d365d63477/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_15-small.jpg" data-mid="189626982" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6f9c79717ec7a7bba12915555ffbb8a2b8dd2d95c8a89946919d32d365d63477/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_15-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/14d92dc2822f08699a76b114ea8f86425775a1250548a8323926e9f5020bd273/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_6-small.jpg" data-mid="189626973" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/14d92dc2822f08699a76b114ea8f86425775a1250548a8323926e9f5020bd273/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_6-small.jpg" /> <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07790b857fdbe28c990939c6a651ef930877c0c5a6000081db64c8876774644c/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_10-small.jpg" data-mid="189626977" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/07790b857fdbe28c990939c6a651ef930877c0c5a6000081db64c8876774644c/Sinist-puuta--mustaa-rautaa_Sigrid_Holmwood_kuva_Krista_Luoma_10-small.jpg" /> https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/A-Terrible-and-True-History Sun, 07 May 2023 13:26:26 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/A-Terrible-and-True-History A Terrible and True History <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/96af80b383841f86a3b5201698b9842fb838d1199e6300d683c23b8cf0ff51e8/IMG_20221221_143638.jpg" data-mid="177935775" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/96af80b383841f86a3b5201698b9842fb838d1199e6300d683c23b8cf0ff51e8/IMG_20221221_143638.jpg" /> After moving to Malmö, Southern Sweden, four years ago, I noticed that my daily cycle route to the studio would take me past a small park with a stone monument. On closer inspection I discovered that this monument was to the memory of the women executed for witchcraft on that spot from 1543 to 1663. Further research led to discover a particular case, replete with transnational political conspiracy theories, with connections to Scotland, where I grew up.In September 1589 Princess Anne of Denmark set off from Copenhagen towards Edinburgh where she was to marry King James the VI of Scotland (later also the first of England). Unfortunately, a great storm meant the fleet had to turn around a lay over in Oslo. The disappointed James the VI set off to Oslo and then carried on with Princess Anne to Denmark where they were married and spent the winter in Helsingore. During this period reports of witchcraft trials in Trier, Germany had arrived to Denmark. Consequently, a rumour circulated that witches had been responsible for the storm and that it was a political conspiracy against King James himself. &nbsp;This led to a series of witchcraft trials in Copenhagen, and in Malmö which was then a part of the Danish Kingdom. When James the VI returned to Edinburgh with his bride in the spring, he personally oversaw more trials for the same case, in which women from North Berwick were accused of having conspired with the Danish witches. The case sticks out as crossing national boundaries and revealing how ideas of pacts with the devil spread from Germany, to Denmark, to Scotland. King James VI became obsessed with witchcraft and later wrote the book Daemonologie, in 1597. <img width="3150" height="2365" width_o="3150" height_o="2365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/55e6fe7dd54e6f3e7c140f20405d589443529e86eeeaff0ba20a954541005237/ale-wife.jpg" data-mid="177934053" border="0" alt="Ale Wife, 2022, Madder, caput mortuum, cochineal, bone black, green umber, Maya blue, red ochre, titanium white, in egg tempera on calico mordant printed with madder. 90 x 120cm" data-caption="Ale Wife, 2022, Madder, caput mortuum, cochineal, bone black, green umber, Maya blue, red ochre, titanium white, in egg tempera on calico mordant printed with madder. 90 x 120cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/55e6fe7dd54e6f3e7c140f20405d589443529e86eeeaff0ba20a954541005237/ale-wife.jpg" /> <img width="6567" height="3897" width_o="6567" height_o="3897" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/263625aa5a0a709d9fafb77585d3182ed60c5960c493e77d9c484c3ddc586ec8/MKonsthall2022_FotoHeleneToresdotter_IMG_8090.jpg" data-mid="177931379" border="0" alt="A Terrible and True History, Installation View at 'In the City Grows a Field,' Malm&ouml; Konsthall, 2022. Photo: Helene Tores" data-caption="A Terrible and True History, Installation View at 'In the City Grows a Field,' Malmö Konsthall, 2022. Photo: Helene Tores" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/263625aa5a0a709d9fafb77585d3182ed60c5960c493e77d9c484c3ddc586ec8/MKonsthall2022_FotoHeleneToresdotter_IMG_8090.jpg" /> &nbsp; <img width="3840" height="2560" width_o="3840" height_o="2560" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0a465be32701659d26fc12caa9a20832db58bee09326a1fcafa59ecdf99ff354/AJFA2023_012.jpg" data-mid="177932071" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0a465be32701659d26fc12caa9a20832db58bee09326a1fcafa59ecdf99ff354/AJFA2023_012.jpg" /> <img width="3840" height="2884" width_o="3840" height_o="2884" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6e8c483c79e75feaa146d32085fef3b7223256974759d018e980126b0de72093/Holmwood-2023_15.jpg" data-mid="177931950" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6e8c483c79e75feaa146d32085fef3b7223256974759d018e980126b0de72093/Holmwood-2023_15.jpg" /> <img width="3087" height="2286" width_o="3087" height_o="2286" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/22cb73f92c393b6c8c8707bb4fd2bdcd396885511d7d23182cf6a4368480f7b7/book-burning.jpg" data-mid="177934054" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/22cb73f92c393b6c8c8707bb4fd2bdcd396885511d7d23182cf6a4368480f7b7/book-burning.jpg" /> <img width="3840" height="2560" width_o="3840" height_o="2560" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cc18d68f8a4c226bbe2b25853b70ba1acc830a9a8c025d6548cc97bd8978148f/AJFA2023_016.jpg" data-mid="177937859" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cc18d68f8a4c226bbe2b25853b70ba1acc830a9a8c025d6548cc97bd8978148f/AJFA2023_016.jpg" /> https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Cannibal-and-Witch-Eat-the-Rich Mon, 14 Feb 2022 10:31:30 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Cannibal-and-Witch-Eat-the-Rich Cannibal and Witch Eat the Rich <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2e16ac277bef1e98c7b8e26d4b99fe65a2c1490a27e01469e5f4f6de7f9bf542/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood1-small.jpg" data-mid="133422357" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2e16ac277bef1e98c7b8e26d4b99fe65a2c1490a27e01469e5f4f6de7f9bf542/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood1-small.jpg" /> <img width="1000" height="1500" width_o="1000" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2e023b2973241a657cd1e8daeecede17a8d85be5140eb3e974a5469bb9562200/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood17-small.jpg" data-mid="133447799" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2e023b2973241a657cd1e8daeecede17a8d85be5140eb3e974a5469bb9562200/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood17-small.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f6a65fa2f272fb4e5565a01f835d243296cda275950c0d9f97d21fcb749eec06/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood12-small.jpg" data-mid="133423264" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f6a65fa2f272fb4e5565a01f835d243296cda275950c0d9f97d21fcb749eec06/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood12-small.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c66433f96db6b7381a868b57742b495d3d784b550232ddb1cd1b51634378823e/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood14-small.jpg" data-mid="133423078" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c66433f96db6b7381a868b57742b495d3d784b550232ddb1cd1b51634378823e/Celsius_Sigrid_holmwood14-small.jpg" /> Scroll gallery below for more images ︎︎︎︎︎︎ <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/46fdb1a2c43356a550b0d1194f0c8858b1aa0e004812e40ec02d99c21d9d6412/HazeliusBBQ-small.jpg" data-mid="133422388" border="0" data-scale="80" alt="Hazelius BBQ, 2021, Titanium white, Maya blue, indigo, cochineal, red earth, buckthorn berry yellow, yellow earth, green earth, and madder i n egg tempera on calico dyed with goldenrod and printed with brazilwood and madder." data-caption="Hazelius BBQ, 2021, Titanium white, Maya blue, indigo, cochineal, red earth, buckthorn berry yellow, yellow earth, green earth, and madder i n egg tempera on calico dyed with goldenrod and printed with brazilwood and madder." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/46fdb1a2c43356a550b0d1194f0c8858b1aa0e004812e40ec02d99c21d9d6412/HazeliusBBQ-small.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/366ae2a14e189c87c52b534c398a9831431a0635801416b4b31c74207585877f/Our-house-has-been-on-fire-for-fivehundred-years-small.jpg" data-mid="133422414" border="0" data-scale="84" alt="Our House has been on Fire for Five Hundred Years, 2021, Titanium white, cochineal, madder, green earth, raw umber, Maya blue, and buckthorn berry yellow in egg tempera on calico mordant printed with brazilwood and madder." data-caption="Our House has been on Fire for Five Hundred Years, 2021, Titanium white, cochineal, madder, green earth, raw umber, Maya blue, and buckthorn berry yellow in egg tempera on calico mordant printed with brazilwood and madder." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/366ae2a14e189c87c52b534c398a9831431a0635801416b4b31c74207585877f/Our-house-has-been-on-fire-for-fivehundred-years-small.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bab2c02406376f0b565d25c6f43db6038c51ae71bcd8aa12caa0a5fdf188a6c1/CannibalandWitchEattheRichsmall.jpg" data-mid="133422115" border="0" alt="Cannibal and Witch Eat t he Rich, 2021 Titanium White, Mayan Blue, Indigo, Buckthorn berry yellow in egg tempera on calico mordant printed with brazilwood and madder." data-caption="Cannibal and Witch Eat t he Rich, 2021 Titanium White, Mayan Blue, Indigo, Buckthorn berry yellow in egg tempera on calico mordant printed with brazilwood and madder." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bab2c02406376f0b565d25c6f43db6038c51ae71bcd8aa12caa0a5fdf188a6c1/CannibalandWitchEattheRichsmall.jpg" /> <img width="1000" height="1500" width_o="1000" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c572bbee0321fa9ee925b4f4bfd7d18220ea622f44e9a3a6a9740d6adead4334/CelsiusCannibalPeasantsmall.jpg" data-mid="133423022" border="0" alt="Cannibal Peasant, 2021, Titanium white, Maya blue, raw umber, orange earth, buckthorn berry yellow, and green earth in egg tempera on calico printed with brazilwood and madder." data-caption="Cannibal Peasant, 2021, Titanium white, Maya blue, raw umber, orange earth, buckthorn berry yellow, and green earth in egg tempera on calico printed with brazilwood and madder." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c572bbee0321fa9ee925b4f4bfd7d18220ea622f44e9a3a6a9740d6adead4334/CelsiusCannibalPeasantsmall.jpg" /> This exhibition of paintings and printed textiles made using earths and plant dyes, follows the colonial histories and stories of resistance belonging to these materials. It took place at Celsius Projects, Malmö, in 2021. It was part of the final exam for my PhD research project “The Peasant Paints: expanding painting decolonially through planting and pigment-making” undertaken at Goldsmiths College, University of London. More information about the practice-based research can be found at www.thepeasantpaints.picturesMy thesis can be downloaded ︎︎︎here&nbsp; Printed calicos from India using plant dyes and mordants on cotton fabric were a particularly popular commodity in Europe from the 17th century, until many countries introduced import bans to support local industries during the 18th century. These European calico printers appropriated the Indian techniques, and used plant dyes from around the globe such as indigo from grown with enslaved labour in the Americas, and later India, under the plantation system; and brazilwood and logwood from the rainforests of Central and South America. These patterned calicos formed an integral part of Swedish regional costumes in the form of headscarves, aprons, and linings for bodices – thereby demonstrating that the figure of the peasant that has been used to construct ideas of nationhood in Scandinavia, was in fact implicated in global colonial forces. <img width="955" height="1311" width_o="955" height_o="1311" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/50e349a03b062622d31b11379d7d205c1de9e9b35e7bdfc41469897ded782988/cannibalpeasantclothescropped2.jpg" data-mid="133425451" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/955/i/50e349a03b062622d31b11379d7d205c1de9e9b35e7bdfc41469897ded782988/cannibalpeasantclothescropped2.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ff99e15129ec67068842c46182c8485637fffa057a097406cd8269927d7c1fe5/Cannibal-and-witches-white-background-small.jpg" data-mid="133423307" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ff99e15129ec67068842c46182c8485637fffa057a097406cd8269927d7c1fe5/Cannibal-and-witches-white-background-small.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/893da14f051b99820d6c20a49828633f33d7285fcd7224dbea33ff2d701c3444/bones-yellow-small.jpg" data-mid="133423311" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/893da14f051b99820d6c20a49828633f33d7285fcd7224dbea33ff2d701c3444/bones-yellow-small.jpg" /> Western colonialism and capitalism with its extractive approach to plants as ‘natural resources’ served to suppress alternative ways of relating with plant-beings both within Europe and outside Europe. As Silvia Federici has argued in her book Caliban and the Witch, the Great Witch Hunts, in particular, were a counter-revolutionary tool that served to supress radical movements from the peasant class, and appropriate women’s reproductive capacities by silencing their medicinal knowledge of plants. This tactic was then exported to the Americas to suppress indigenous knowledge through accusations of satanism and idolatry. The works in this exhibition use plant pigments and dyes that have particularly resonant stories, such as Mayan blue – a sacred pre-Colombian indigenous pigment made from indigo and attapulgite clay that ceased to be made during the oppression of the colonial period and has only recently been ‘re-discovered’ – and brazilwood, a tree which produces a red dye, and which gave the country of Brazil its name. The birth of the brazilwood trade in the 16th century is a devastating example of bioprospecting which exploited the Tupi Amerindians, who were depicted as savage cannibals by Europeans and decimated the brazilwood trees leaving it endangered to this day. Meanwhile, in Europe brazilwood was very much implicated in the disciplining of a new proletariat. The displacement of peasants in the wake of agrarian capitalism meant that many moved to urban centres and became beggars and vagrants. &nbsp;In response, the authorities in Amsterdam, set up a new form of prison that used forced labour to discipline and reform these vagrants of rural origin. In 1596 the Rasp- and Spinn- huis was established, and functioned until 1815. Here, male inmates were set to work rasping brazilwood for the dye and pigment industry, while women were forced to spin and weave textiles. This model was eventually copied elsewhere in Europe, with rasp- and spinn- hus being set up in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Norrköping during the eighteenth century. This exhibition imagined an alternative history with an alliance between the cannibal and the witch to eat the rich. https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/The-Peasants-Are-Revolting Mon, 14 Feb 2022 10:31:30 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/The-Peasants-Are-Revolting The Peasants Are Revolting! Annely Juda Fine Art, London, in 2017. Paintings were made on top of mordant-printed and dyed calicoes, in plant and earth pigments in egg tempera. Dividing the space were what I call “pleitas,” long thin paintings on panel with plant and earth pigments in a weave pattern. Woad was growing in a raised bed, which was harvested for a performance demonstrating making Maya blue. <img width="2126" height="1300" width_o="2126" height_o="1300" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e5539b1835d210f3580535e3844b8a27567bf5e17e6c5597734243210ccd1224/SH0240.jpg" data-mid="133439173" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e5539b1835d210f3580535e3844b8a27567bf5e17e6c5597734243210ccd1224/SH0240.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1296" width_o="2126" height_o="1296" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1576f71fdd684588d8e745fc948d239c2569682f33fab99693509bfefa30acc0/SH0241.jpg" data-mid="133439174" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1576f71fdd684588d8e745fc948d239c2569682f33fab99693509bfefa30acc0/SH0241.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1596" width_o="2126" height_o="1596" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5ee06fefc97ec4d737a2b5130b3d0e93673afbda3018998e0e37c12c85ef5217/Holmwood-2017_3.jpg" data-mid="133439145" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5ee06fefc97ec4d737a2b5130b3d0e93673afbda3018998e0e37c12c85ef5217/Holmwood-2017_3.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1205" width_o="2126" height_o="1205" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f2665242bf4bfd9403e1dd7666c64eda37864b56fb90ee9269f2e8e158f70ce8/SH0233.jpg" data-mid="133439166" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f2665242bf4bfd9403e1dd7666c64eda37864b56fb90ee9269f2e8e158f70ce8/SH0233.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1596" width_o="2126" height_o="1596" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81c5a21f157b458fffae8dda918468408321fd248cfa9afc801683d617a67835/Holmwood-2017_14.jpg" data-mid="133439158" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/81c5a21f157b458fffae8dda918468408321fd248cfa9afc801683d617a67835/Holmwood-2017_14.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1596" width_o="2126" height_o="1596" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3149d06fe2cf941d2ec7726141a0e0df34bd6702413d5c0c436029d11dd14d71/Holmwood-2017_12.jpg" data-mid="133439154" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3149d06fe2cf941d2ec7726141a0e0df34bd6702413d5c0c436029d11dd14d71/Holmwood-2017_12.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1592" width_o="2126" height_o="1592" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/236bcc4477ea1ed26c88b8c274eb8ffd8e85842602f6e2a66b5dfece1f6bb35a/SH0243.jpg" data-mid="133439175" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/236bcc4477ea1ed26c88b8c274eb8ffd8e85842602f6e2a66b5dfece1f6bb35a/SH0243.jpg" /> <img width="750" height="500" width_o="750" height_o="500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/52c1e72e973e0ae1e222132d16d3951d24e3c5a093a3e5d2ea29a6018b7871c0/view-through-pleitas.jpeg" data-mid="133840901" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/52c1e72e973e0ae1e222132d16d3951d24e3c5a093a3e5d2ea29a6018b7871c0/view-through-pleitas.jpeg" /> <img width="2126" height="1291" width_o="2126" height_o="1291" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a4067b90037769878e3c40ec0aea25f7a1b3940c16ee9a59a1d89636ee233ec6/SH0239.jpg" data-mid="133439172" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a4067b90037769878e3c40ec0aea25f7a1b3940c16ee9a59a1d89636ee233ec6/SH0239.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1595" width_o="2126" height_o="1595" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/14a975f03e9ba25ff499c9783bce17f7b190743a0a81814af3ff41bab5130ece/SH0230.jpg" data-mid="133439165" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/14a975f03e9ba25ff499c9783bce17f7b190743a0a81814af3ff41bab5130ece/SH0230.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1596" width_o="2126" height_o="1596" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8d354717945c5d50bb6677aef6033f01cb8c5391148535470a43cc3e8520a1cc/Holmwood-2017_8.jpg" data-mid="133439151" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8d354717945c5d50bb6677aef6033f01cb8c5391148535470a43cc3e8520a1cc/Holmwood-2017_8.jpg" /> <img width="1401" height="1772" width_o="1401" height_o="1772" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c253f040ab166564a039074fe1a5ed1bc4bf7424824bfe17112c6b54d54b7b13/SH0257.jpg" data-mid="133841048" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c253f040ab166564a039074fe1a5ed1bc4bf7424824bfe17112c6b54d54b7b13/SH0257.jpg" /> Scroll gallery below for more images&nbsp;︎︎︎︎︎︎ <img width="2126" height="1371" width_o="2126" height_o="1371" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d9ea5aa9ace5d1761eaddffaa16c82ff13290a418c35591187ab710653cb80c7/SH0237.jpg" data-mid="133439169" border="0" alt="Creative Common's Pigeon Coop, 2017, May blue made from woad, woad and gesso on calico mordant-printed with dyer's broom, cochineal, and logwood on board, 120 x 186.5cm" data-caption="Creative Common's Pigeon Coop, 2017, May blue made from woad, woad and gesso on calico mordant-printed with dyer's broom, cochineal, and logwood on board, 120 x 186.5cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d9ea5aa9ace5d1761eaddffaa16c82ff13290a418c35591187ab710653cb80c7/SH0237.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1383" width_o="2126" height_o="1383" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/13ffc3d7ace2398b66799cb4637a70f70e75f6ba6a7231178dce34149dcd77b6/SH0236.jpg" data-mid="133439167" border="0" alt="Peasants Fighting with Scythes, 2017, Mayan blue made from woad, ink, and gesso, on calico mordant-printed and dyed with dyer's broom, buckthorn berries, and logwood, on board, 120 x 185cm" data-caption="Peasants Fighting with Scythes, 2017, Mayan blue made from woad, ink, and gesso, on calico mordant-printed and dyed with dyer's broom, buckthorn berries, and logwood, on board, 120 x 185cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/13ffc3d7ace2398b66799cb4637a70f70e75f6ba6a7231178dce34149dcd77b6/SH0236.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1064" width_o="2126" height_o="1064" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/de5083f40c972319fffd10738b71312974ed651b7dbb0c5726bc900b497a74a6/SH0223.jpg" data-mid="133439160" border="0" alt="Painting with Flower and Song, 2016, Maya blue made with woad, aliaga, cochineal, ink and gesso on calico mordant-printed and dyed with madder, cochineal, and dyer's broom on board, 100 x 200cm" data-caption="Painting with Flower and Song, 2016, Maya blue made with woad, aliaga, cochineal, ink and gesso on calico mordant-printed and dyed with madder, cochineal, and dyer's broom on board, 100 x 200cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/de5083f40c972319fffd10738b71312974ed651b7dbb0c5726bc900b497a74a6/SH0223.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1652" width_o="2126" height_o="1652" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f15133b76aec32257ba4cff0a3226e8bba440afd89d18cdab7bc0ac7d2f5665e/SH0227.jpg" data-mid="133439162" border="0" alt="Woad, 2016, Maya blue made from woad, and gesso on calico mordant-printed with buckthorn berries on board, 128 x 164cm" data-caption="Woad, 2016, Maya blue made from woad, and gesso on calico mordant-printed with buckthorn berries on board, 128 x 164cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f15133b76aec32257ba4cff0a3226e8bba440afd89d18cdab7bc0ac7d2f5665e/SH0227.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1779" width_o="2126" height_o="1779" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d49ca74dd865b7dc853413a0d509596edaa9489a98b08a0bef6bf133f53fd4c5/SH0229.jpg" data-mid="133439164" border="0" alt="Madder, 2016, madder, ink, and gesso on calico mordant-printed with madder, on board, 100 x 120cm" data-caption="Madder, 2016, madder, ink, and gesso on calico mordant-printed with madder, on board, 100 x 120cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d49ca74dd865b7dc853413a0d509596edaa9489a98b08a0bef6bf133f53fd4c5/SH0229.jpg" /> <img width="2126" height="1695" width_o="2126" height_o="1695" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/42cbed68068054e539f61a237f954d502812984e5c3ade51741b8eb41d40ffb1/SH0228.jpg" data-mid="133439163" border="0" alt="Painting with Plant and Insect Colours, 2016, Maya blue made from woad, madder, aliaga, cochineal, ink and gesso on calico mordant-printed with cochineal and dyer's broom on board, 100 x 125cm" data-caption="Painting with Plant and Insect Colours, 2016, Maya blue made from woad, madder, aliaga, cochineal, ink and gesso on calico mordant-printed with cochineal and dyer's broom on board, 100 x 125cm" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/42cbed68068054e539f61a237f954d502812984e5c3ade51741b8eb41d40ffb1/SH0228.jpg" /> <img width="4032" height="3024" width_o="4032" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c9ad53523d352aa856ec489a9a9e23149dabd89437eb08705fb82e2c1dabf8ea/IMG_9351.JPG" data-mid="133439277" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c9ad53523d352aa856ec489a9a9e23149dabd89437eb08705fb82e2c1dabf8ea/IMG_9351.JPG" /> <img width="3024" height="2274" width_o="3024" height_o="2274" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2bd9577c8909d99f98d7f99c5d02b6345b565430c297cca1b22ba275229b2727/performance-cropped.jpg" data-mid="133439278" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2bd9577c8909d99f98d7f99c5d02b6345b565430c297cca1b22ba275229b2727/performance-cropped.jpg" /> https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Mordant-printing Thu, 17 Feb 2022 12:34:00 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Mordant-printing Mordant printing and dyeing <img width="1688" height="1184" width_o="1688" height_o="1184" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f73e96252a28d27855e8966aa6b9e53561237725f49ad65b098f6182bb5cff71/Calico_printing_Wellcome_L0011294.jpg" data-mid="133808895" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f73e96252a28d27855e8966aa6b9e53561237725f49ad65b098f6182bb5cff71/Calico_printing_Wellcome_L0011294.jpg" /> <img width="4608" height="2592" width_o="4608" height_o="2592" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0e9d4a89e76fd5a417ec1906e14e53d71fc2a4d071d1e3db68a1e0cd59f0a94b/20160413_175756.jpg" data-mid="133808891" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0e9d4a89e76fd5a417ec1906e14e53d71fc2a4d071d1e3db68a1e0cd59f0a94b/20160413_175756.jpg" /> <img width="3456" height="4608" width_o="3456" height_o="4608" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5d7a752cd37898baa7d785cbee01178782239e8320e3c6ff7cb505c40faf1e42/20161010_180106.jpg" data-mid="133808892" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5d7a752cd37898baa7d785cbee01178782239e8320e3c6ff7cb505c40faf1e42/20161010_180106.jpg" /> <img width="4607" height="1232" width_o="4607" height_o="1232" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/119d8a4bf5704ef0f6af9d03db1157a2554d81b69481b32e7f57f3fbcf99623a/20161130_160242.jpg" data-mid="133808894" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/119d8a4bf5704ef0f6af9d03db1157a2554d81b69481b32e7f57f3fbcf99623a/20161130_160242.jpg" /> <img width="4608" height="3456" width_o="4608" height_o="3456" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/74ddc3121131a335dbff6c761ee3152ac07c727b922d26a528505376271a880a/20161118_160725.jpg" data-mid="133808893" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/74ddc3121131a335dbff6c761ee3152ac07c727b922d26a528505376271a880a/20161118_160725.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2009a28d9947144b40c25e6dff4ede3292d223b768bb29281f0a290e7c8819b8/IMG_20200304_135055.jpg" data-mid="133808897" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2009a28d9947144b40c25e6dff4ede3292d223b768bb29281f0a290e7c8819b8/IMG_20200304_135055.jpg" /> <img width="2736" height="3648" width_o="2736" height_o="3648" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/380d27560cee940145d772c8a585b2bbd2213ff31c6f2c3c36d7b98ee81d7862/IMG_20200302_135056.jpg" data-mid="133809329" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/380d27560cee940145d772c8a585b2bbd2213ff31c6f2c3c36d7b98ee81d7862/IMG_20200302_135056.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6e3d261d1700636e85077ca076b731e62da64fc9739577430e43dd6dbbb82445/IMG_20200302_141224.jpg" data-mid="133808896" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6e3d261d1700636e85077ca076b731e62da64fc9739577430e43dd6dbbb82445/IMG_20200302_141224.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b04a1ee55351ad7fa2ab3116a120e4ae8a921424ef370af841056914831a823/IMG_20200820_145251.jpg" data-mid="133808898" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7b04a1ee55351ad7fa2ab3116a120e4ae8a921424ef370af841056914831a823/IMG_20200820_145251.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ee3279a9941a6447749f296dd5ead0078334157c342db7a5fdd340d1446e1c09/IMG_20210511_152015.jpg" data-mid="133810857" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ee3279a9941a6447749f296dd5ead0078334157c342db7a5fdd340d1446e1c09/IMG_20210511_152015.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/430c9b44f79cecf890d167b0b56b148fccbb7716dba1dd53e8a44f8e4475eae3/IMG_20210429_123258.jpg" data-mid="133810862" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/430c9b44f79cecf890d167b0b56b148fccbb7716dba1dd53e8a44f8e4475eae3/IMG_20210429_123258.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9b390fa8b2746a171e0ce46de63735ce1d1e442ec8955ff5a5a9e748454e1bf1/IMG_20201210_150743.jpg" data-mid="133810853" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9b390fa8b2746a171e0ce46de63735ce1d1e442ec8955ff5a5a9e748454e1bf1/IMG_20201210_150743.jpg" /> <img width="3562" height="2602" width_o="3562" height_o="2602" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/15c2fc9537fceb2aa8d7b96c19917ce6525d1897b932ddf35a3c5df312d29fc6/chopping-and-rasping-detail.jpg" data-mid="133809325" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/15c2fc9537fceb2aa8d7b96c19917ce6525d1897b932ddf35a3c5df312d29fc6/chopping-and-rasping-detail.jpg" /> Printed calicoes or ‘chintzes’ originated in India at least four thousand years ago. Indian craftspeople developed a sophisticated technique of applying&nbsp; mordants and plant dyes, to create beautiful multicoloured patterned cloths. Originally the designs were hand-painted, but later wooden blocks were used. These calicoes arrived to Europe during the end of the 16th century and became immensely popular. By the end of the 17th century printed calicoes had overtaken spices as the main commodity traded by The English East India Trading Company.&nbsp; The threat to the domestic European textile industry was such that many countries introduced restrictions during the 18th century which effectively banned the import of most cotton goods from India (although re-export to other colonies was permitted). Meanwhile, European textile industrialists set about appropriating the Indian techniques, and developing their own calico printing industry which used early industrial techniques such as copper plate printing. Indeed, Foucault writes vividly about the division of labour in the Oberkampf manufactory at Jouy-en-Josas as an example of the disciplining of the workforce in industrial society, in Discipline and Punish (1975). <img width="3464" height="4618" width_o="3464" height_o="4618" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cbd1923a645b934a5a1267bbfcac61b875e09556991bb376405ee8609c953f05/IMG_20201203_133559.jpg" data-mid="133810851" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cbd1923a645b934a5a1267bbfcac61b875e09556991bb376405ee8609c953f05/IMG_20201203_133559.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a51cf039c7066b4849d8b87f655c4a7a8aea4b3ef638615074feff8807669430/IMG_20220204_130906.jpg" data-mid="133810861" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a51cf039c7066b4849d8b87f655c4a7a8aea4b3ef638615074feff8807669430/IMG_20220204_130906.jpg" /> These printed calicoes, produced in early industrial conditions in Europe, with plant dyes which included colonial commodities, became popular elements of Swedish regional costume. Therefore, despite eventually being appropriated under a national romanticisim, these peasant costumes demonstrated their connection with global colonial forces &nbsp; I have developed techniques based on calico painting and woodblock printing for screenprinting, using mordant recipes from the master dyer, Michel Garcia. I use combinations of tannins, aluminium acetate, and ferrous acetate, printing with thickened dye, and immersions in dye baths. Calico printed with dyes are steamed afterwards so that they react with the mordants. Headscarves are available for sale! https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Maya-Blue Mon, 14 Feb 2022 10:31:31 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Maya-Blue Maya Blue Maya blue is a remarkable pigment invented during the early classic period of the Mayan civilisation (c. 250 -900 C.E.). It is a combination of indigo, extracted from plants, and palygorskite clay, making it an unusual hybrid organic/inorganic pigment. It is a striking turquoise colour that is unusually stable. Overlooked by the Spanish, the technology was eventually lost during the colonial period, only to be retrieved during the late twentieth century. In order to make Maya blue one must first extract the indigo from an indigo-bearing plant, by fermenting the leaves and then aerating the liquid. Maya blue was originally made with the leaves of the tropical indigo native to Central America, called ch’oj in Mayan. I have researched making Maya blue-style pigment with woad and Japanese indigo which can both be cultivated in Europe. Samples of this blue made from woad were analysed by Professor Antonio Doménech Carbó at the University of Valencia, Spain. Maya blue has recently returned to the Mayan people through the work of Luis Manuel May Ku, a Mayan artist who is teaching his community how to cultivate ch’oj, and producing azul Maya ch’oj. He can be contacted via his facebook page&nbsp;︎︎︎︎ <img width="3237" height="2322" width_o="3237" height_o="2322" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bc987d1731eaf9c80869976dc9fcd72bd36c320c72573b3038a8516e100251e2/cropped-woad.jpg" data-mid="133444798" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bc987d1731eaf9c80869976dc9fcd72bd36c320c72573b3038a8516e100251e2/cropped-woad.jpg" /> <img width="3028" height="2322" width_o="3028" height_o="2322" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/06fedeab7c751259c267aef1033dd70a666837e64dd35e7a3f014f1e698aecda/woad-harvest-cropped.jpg" data-mid="133443739" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/06fedeab7c751259c267aef1033dd70a666837e64dd35e7a3f014f1e698aecda/woad-harvest-cropped.jpg" /> <img width="3393" height="2321" width_o="3393" height_o="2321" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/867c98bc3426536769a007ea930ffe123148b1ec5bc44149e4f3dc4929ebef93/cropped-japanese-indigo.jpg" data-mid="133444962" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/867c98bc3426536769a007ea930ffe123148b1ec5bc44149e4f3dc4929ebef93/cropped-japanese-indigo.jpg" /> <img width="2736" height="2221" width_o="2736" height_o="2221" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fb8d7665537822dab67eff22115b1d14ed473e36588618b806f8b3df8b3f599a/indigo-and-liquid.jpg" data-mid="133443737" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fb8d7665537822dab67eff22115b1d14ed473e36588618b806f8b3df8b3f599a/indigo-and-liquid.jpg" /> <img width="2736" height="2400" width_o="2736" height_o="2400" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/163a54a82de6ef3da38810d08f7d0c7ec49c19af55336b944a7bb2963e9346da/blue-foam-cropped.jpg" data-mid="133443734" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/163a54a82de6ef3da38810d08f7d0c7ec49c19af55336b944a7bb2963e9346da/blue-foam-cropped.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bdfa3458849a1b290f27bf8ca4cc8c311fbbacf8b37b59d444afba099ad9ed36/IMG_20200722_145732.jpg" data-mid="133443735" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bdfa3458849a1b290f27bf8ca4cc8c311fbbacf8b37b59d444afba099ad9ed36/IMG_20200722_145732.jpg" /> <img width="2638" height="2047" width_o="2638" height_o="2047" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c7e34ecc4a8ebbe70102dbfecc4d17b28cbada5f706d1883a0bbbb7dc6b559ed/maya-blue-cropped.jpg" data-mid="133443738" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c7e34ecc4a8ebbe70102dbfecc4d17b28cbada5f706d1883a0bbbb7dc6b559ed/maya-blue-cropped.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f321d88a40bfd2eb93ee9fcad05136fe2bc0a09424e92d2ea5d4831cbdd0a657/IMG_20200722_154215.jpg" data-mid="133443736" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f321d88a40bfd2eb93ee9fcad05136fe2bc0a09424e92d2ea5d4831cbdd0a657/IMG_20200722_154215.jpg" /> https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Plants Thu, 17 Feb 2022 13:33:57 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Plants Plants Researching plant dyes is central to my work, and involves cultivation, foraging locally, and foraging online. <img width="1000" height="667" width_o="1000" height_o="667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/67c0320ff8a7a3c96da6ab089e63eef6afb2223f32bbe02066752629b2bf56f9/rubia-tinctoria.jpg" data-mid="133814512" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/67c0320ff8a7a3c96da6ab089e63eef6afb2223f32bbe02066752629b2bf56f9/rubia-tinctoria.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/075cb425ce1d68f1980d6834d2a8634f557d7b634357eb29f4ddfa69207dd86d/IMG_20200621_154420.jpg" data-mid="133814508" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/075cb425ce1d68f1980d6834d2a8634f557d7b634357eb29f4ddfa69207dd86d/IMG_20200621_154420.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bfea8931a2122109fc8f802771d05fce087958056188661daf2fa4bf303b0d1c/IMG_20200626_133634.jpg" data-mid="133814510" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bfea8931a2122109fc8f802771d05fce087958056188661daf2fa4bf303b0d1c/IMG_20200626_133634.jpg" /> <img width="2736" height="3648" width_o="2736" height_o="3648" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7bd32fdf097445914f97801344abf2e7538625f14979112936a3a0665fdffd11/IMG_20190820_103810_1.jpg" data-mid="133814755" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7bd32fdf097445914f97801344abf2e7538625f14979112936a3a0665fdffd11/IMG_20190820_103810_1.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ac7fbcc6e5e4bf370614ca40e0fcb78560c0fccf6bc230e1aac200c0ded1096e/IMG_20200916_104701.jpg" data-mid="133814763" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ac7fbcc6e5e4bf370614ca40e0fcb78560c0fccf6bc230e1aac200c0ded1096e/IMG_20200916_104701.jpg" /> <img width="2736" height="3648" width_o="2736" height_o="3648" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bbf59b35a5fac1847de859c5cf8376b89902accfbaaee884896ba019b5a30d44/IMG_20200705_155418.jpg" data-mid="133814777" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bbf59b35a5fac1847de859c5cf8376b89902accfbaaee884896ba019b5a30d44/IMG_20200705_155418.jpg" /> <img width="3648" height="2736" width_o="3648" height_o="2736" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/15fcc85b6d30b78bc357a6757f610d1698d17a74c0b7058ec0aa368d7144a15b/IMG_20200820_091148.jpg" data-mid="133814756" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/15fcc85b6d30b78bc357a6757f610d1698d17a74c0b7058ec0aa368d7144a15b/IMG_20200820_091148.jpg" /> <img width="4608" height="3456" width_o="4608" height_o="3456" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/aa96cd6448045b8d6211a732ea578ef6d5ee6d53772203be29a43a25e8ea14b7/20180518_113754.jpg" data-mid="133841441" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/aa96cd6448045b8d6211a732ea578ef6d5ee6d53772203be29a43a25e8ea14b7/20180518_113754.jpg" /> <img width="4128" height="2322" width_o="4128" height_o="2322" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c0e880926ef3b0d4fe8aa41f8063b4d043b143796c2ba11c47668968e798d2dd/20140704_162314.jpg" data-mid="133814990" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c0e880926ef3b0d4fe8aa41f8063b4d043b143796c2ba11c47668968e798d2dd/20140704_162314.jpg" /> <img width="2322" height="4128" width_o="2322" height_o="4128" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4d39f34c0ebabeee91244a95b9d5bcce6c40b94c7e594f382ed964039248d892/20140601_141850.jpg" data-mid="133814746" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4d39f34c0ebabeee91244a95b9d5bcce6c40b94c7e594f382ed964039248d892/20140601_141850.jpg" /> Observing the plants that live around where I live in Malmö, I find traces of colonial relationships. One yellow dye plant that grows extensively in Malmö is Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). It originally came from North America, where it was an important medicine and dye plant for the indigenous population. It was one of the earliest dye plants to be embraced by European settlers. In Malmö it has become rather invasive, so harvesting it for a dye is a beneficial relationship. Another plant I have found growing locally is weld, a very important dye plant historically in Europe. While many plants produce yellow dyes, the vast majority are highly fugitive. Weld contains luteolin, one of the most lightfast yellow dyes. It likes poor alkali soil that has been disturbed. I have found it growing wild in the industrial areas of Malmö, especially near my studio. The wild form of weld, wild mignonette, also grows locally on old rail tracks. https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Cultivating-Colour Mon, 14 Feb 2022 10:31:31 +0000 sigridholmwood https://sigridholmwood.co.uk/Cultivating-Colour Cultivating Colour <img width="800" height="600" width_o="800" height_o="600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/013d8f64b0eeb74de23ce1d34ca80f0d84e3da2da2874b6f3e5509db1c7c4328/1.-aliaga.jpg" data-mid="133448261" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/800/i/013d8f64b0eeb74de23ce1d34ca80f0d84e3da2da2874b6f3e5509db1c7c4328/1.-aliaga.jpg" /> <img width="4608" height="3456" width_o="4608" height_o="3456" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bcf7d1691bc71a20298da68f5e4ffaca0f53330bb6f92eeb4145b67314546b18/2.-aliaga-pigment.JPG" data-mid="133448262" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bcf7d1691bc71a20298da68f5e4ffaca0f53330bb6f92eeb4145b67314546b18/2.-aliaga-pigment.JPG" /> <img width="960" height="720" width_o="960" 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data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b38bd0f68937508960dbdbf0acd3f314afa8dbacfdd7adf842d73b1a7e5be066/6.-cochineal-pigment.jpg" data-mid="133448265" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b38bd0f68937508960dbdbf0acd3f314afa8dbacfdd7adf842d73b1a7e5be066/6.-cochineal-pigment.jpg" /> <img width="2939" height="2007" width_o="2939" height_o="2007" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b8d226ba69b71a9af554e6a5484f012e309ecb21bfa58e229398bb48b3c4a76d/11.-three-peasants-watering.JPG" data-mid="133448270" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b8d226ba69b71a9af554e6a5484f012e309ecb21bfa58e229398bb48b3c4a76d/11.-three-peasants-watering.JPG" /> <img width="640" height="479" width_o="640" height_o="479" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d09d859e05295fad9b76cabf06c39f685c6ce4b20b9b9de4841ea8bb2faf9802/woad-at-los-gazquez.jpeg" data-mid="133448420" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/d09d859e05295fad9b76cabf06c39f685c6ce4b20b9b9de4841ea8bb2faf9802/woad-at-los-gazquez.jpeg" /> <img width="4128" height="2322" width_o="4128" height_o="2322" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8f7cf5f2f363d993f9640fe7d73fe3564c72c4592a61f1aa6b834a232ffccbd4/20151026_101411.jpg" data-mid="133448418" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8f7cf5f2f363d993f9640fe7d73fe3564c72c4592a61f1aa6b834a232ffccbd4/20151026_101411.jpg" /> <img width="2464" height="1772" width_o="2464" height_o="1772" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f092649efaf4ffc997fe1f36302fd7fe8aec2b58b1b8c3b795b3e942084f8184/9.-three-peasants-examining-nochetzli-cochineal-cropped.jpeg" data-mid="133448268" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f092649efaf4ffc997fe1f36302fd7fe8aec2b58b1b8c3b795b3e942084f8184/9.-three-peasants-examining-nochetzli-cochineal-cropped.jpeg" /> <img width="3548" height="2614" width_o="3548" height_o="2614" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e0c2df8f2592a9c15569562d2e9af96df9fe044ca30da8e8163057d9a0a29b39/10.-two-peasants-going-to-down-to-the-garden.JPG" data-mid="133448269" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e0c2df8f2592a9c15569562d2e9af96df9fe044ca30da8e8163057d9a0a29b39/10.-two-peasants-going-to-down-to-the-garden.JPG" /> <img width="2000" height="1333" width_o="2000" height_o="1333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/15293dbb7e03d8ecc91f1ffa7b65577a0541ba682faf311794f905a241ba320b/_MG_1966.jpg" data-mid="133448417" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/15293dbb7e03d8ecc91f1ffa7b65577a0541ba682faf311794f905a241ba320b/_MG_1966.jpg" /> <img width="2322" height="2769" width_o="2322" height_o="2769" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/75b79f9123b3513dcfceaa5ceffeb5fd2479ee618817c8dd8136869dc10e639c/woad-harvest-cropped.jpg" data-mid="133448421" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/75b79f9123b3513dcfceaa5ceffeb5fd2479ee618817c8dd8136869dc10e639c/woad-harvest-cropped.jpg" /> Cultivating Colour is a&nbsp; project in collaboration with Joya: arte + ecología which started in 2013. The project is centred on the construction of a pigment garden in the Sierra María los Vélez mountain range in Almería, North Eastern Andalusia, Spain. The location of the garden is on farmland abandoned during the migration to the cities in the 60s. Semi-arid, and mountainous, it is considered poor agricultural land, while on the plains below intensive farming methods using vast quantities of plastic and underpaid migrant labour export year round fruit and vegetables to Northern Europe.&nbsp; Here, capitalist agricultural over-production confronts self-sufficiency. Developing this garden involves researching the local ecology and historical land-use in order to select a range of suitable plants for the garden. This project has revealed that thinking in terms of ‘native’ plants is highly problematic, and that there is no ‘pure’, ‘original’ state, rather a constant dynamic negotiation and confrontation between plants, people, earths and, of course, the climate. Indeed, the presence of the Mexican opuntia cactus with its attendant plague of red-producing cochineal demonstrates how Spain’s colonisation of the Americas is inscribed into the landscape. Consequently, my research has taken me from a very local situation in Andalusia to colonial Mexico. I not only draw on Moorish agricultural treatises written in the time of Al Andaluz, but also the Florentine Codex, (‘La Historia General de las cosas de Nueva España/ The General History of the Things of New Spain), a 16th century encyclopaedic volume, compiled in Spanish and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, by Friar Bernadino Sahagún, and an anonymous group of Nahua scribes.