Natalia was creating some pieces before she left on a journey to Peru. At her studio in Oaxaca, I was taken through the process of Indigo dying and why she chose this medium of art. For Natalia the colour blue is significant, “Not only is it the sky, the sea, it’s also a cooling feeling, it’s also the blues music, the sadness feeling but also gives a sense of calmness. When I see the blue horizon here in Oaxaca I associate it with me travelling to the unknown, to a place i don’t know.”

A natural & sustainable way of dying, Indigo is derived from plants (Natalia sources her Indigo from the coast of Oaxaca). At first it comes out different hues of green but when exposed to atmospheric oxygen it reacts and becomes indigo.

One of the ways in which indigo is sustainable is that same batch of indigo dye can be used to create with several times and once it is done it can also be put back to crops and can even be used as fertiliser.

These pieces you see below was inspired during her covid isolation, “It was the brain fog for me. I felt like i was falling into this deep crevice of my existence & not knowing what the fuck I was doing. Not feeling good about myself, my work, my art. The floating pieces are for me in the intermediate space of I don’t really know where I am but I’m okay and I’m in a safe space.”

More of Natalia’s work @Malatalia