a cloud evolves continuously and transforms with the sky.

it is not defined by a form or colour.

maybe like a cloud, i’m relentlessly transforming.

i create out of desire and curiosity.

to pursue the flow of everyday life.

to discover till its part of me.

my journey started in search of a way of life.

in this journey, i first encountered indigo.

in tokushima i was immersed in the transformation from a seed to a 

blue fabric.

indigo is delicate like a living being, a living dye.

starting an indigo vat is like giving birth to a new life.

when it is alive, you have to care for it like a human being.

it remains endlessly fascinating and full of wonder.

after returning to my home country in the equator,

i delved into the use of kaki shibu (persimmon dye).

this dye adores the strong sun.

it’s beauty comes through ageing with time.

over this period, the deep blue night sky of indigo,

and the warm sun of kaki shibu

held me captive.

in pursuit of a pure grey i started exploring soot dye

slowly, the gentle silent voice of grey shifted my heart.

it felt like being led to a tunnel.

i became curious about black, its darkness.

in sabah, i encountered a natural black dye using mud.

at the end of the tunnel

i took a step back

and realized that the fibers of each fabric are fascinating in themselves

colour was my language,

but i started seeing it as a shadow over 

something that it is already so beautiful in its natural shades.

used over and over again, natural fibers become lighter

eventually turning into white

it reminded me of a morning when i woke up to a world covered in snow.

with the beauty of white,

i realised this whole chapter was a kind of life cycle.

from indigo to kaki shibu to soot to black and to white. 

it felt like i had completed an arc of my life.

a cloud never dies, it just changes form. – thich nhat hanh

persimmon

natural dye is one of the most beautiful gifts from mother nature. with it we are able to breathe life and colour into fibers to weave into everyday objects. i remember my first encounter with persimmon dye also known as kaki shibu was at the indigo farm. one of the members, kakuo showed me this jar of 5 year old fermented persimmon juice he made it himself. the first thing he said was 'smelly'. and i looked at him and wondered what was the degree of 'smell' compared to indigo.

in botanical dyes (except for indigo), a mordant like metal can be added to a base dye like kaki shibu to create darker shades.

back then at the indigo farm we were working on our first indigo dyed denim. kakuo wanted to dye the ramie yarn for the button hole with kaki shibu as it helps to strengthen the fiber. he thought the daily interaction between the button hole (kaki shibu) and the button (metal) would gradually darken the yarn and eventually transforming it into another colour. at that moment i felt it was such a beautiful process. i became really fascinated with kaki shibu. the following summer i decided to start picking persimmons to try to ferment them myself. i also started to make my own mordant using rusting iron nails.

i have always love old things or objects that have stood the test of time. it's a pleasure to see things age. and kaki shibu reminds me of this process. most botanical dyes will discolour and fade with the exposure of sunlight, but for kaki shibu it's quite the opposite. it adores the sun. and so do i. the energy of the sun is really uplifting. i believe i fell in love with the idea of seeing the dye transform under the sun, to me it felt like the most natural way of dyeing.

photo: persimmon tree, tokushima japan