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Brick red, peach, orange, salmon, apricot, liver, baby pink and rust brown
Dye baths with different temperatures, concentrations and additives such as iron
Between 2013 and 2018, the Onkruidenier regularly visited Schouwen-Duiveland to work on a project at the Bewaerschole, a project space in Burgh-Haamstede. During this period, we visited the Goemanszorg regional and agricultural museum in Dreischor and discovered how extensive the madder industry once was. By the end of the 19th century, the madder industry was soon done for when it became possible to manufacture the red dye cheaper synthetically. A trend in which almost all natural pigments were replaced by synthetic ones.
In summer 2019, we visited the dye plant garden at the AGA LAB in Amsterdam West. In the lush garden, we met Naan Rijks and Lucila Kenny. Both are very passionate about bringing knowledge about natural pigments back into our society. The workshop they have set up is a place for experimentation. They grow plants, extract the colours from the plant material and know all about what binders you can use to apply pigments.
In Naan and Lucila’s garden, madder also grows. With a small shovel, Lucila digs out a piece of the madder root and shows it to us. The colour is warm and intense orange. We exchange knowledge about the madder industry in the Netherlands, the salty Zeeland landscape and the special red colour this gives it. In the studio, Lucila shows us the wide range of colour tones you can get with madder. They are shades of brick red, peach, orange, salmon, apricot, liver, baby pink and rust brown. Together, we decide to dye a series of shirts showing the range of madder shades. In different dye baths with different temperatures, concentrations and additives such as iron or alum, each shirt gets its own colouring.
Want to grow the plant yourself to harvest your own pigment?
It takes 2-3 years before you can harvest it for the first time. Do it!