I was chosen by the Bioart Society and the Finnish Cultural Institute in Japan for a month-long art & science research residency at the BioClub in Tokyo. The following text reflect my research during the Tokyo Art & Science Research Residency in November 2024.
Creating an Indigo Vat
"Traditional indigo reduction by fermentation is time consuming and difficult to manage to maintain the appropriate conditions for dyeing. Therefore, the procedure has been replaced with chemical reduction using sodium dithio- nite (Na2S2O4). However, the generation of nonregenerable oxidation products causes various problems in the disposal of the dyeing bath."
– Bacterial community characterization and dynamics of indigo fermentation by Kenichi Aino, Takashi Narihiro, Kimiko Minamida, Yoichi Kamagata, Kazuaki Yoshimune & Isao Yumoto (2010).
During the residency, I created a fermented Indigo vat using local sukumo. It was my first time working with a traditional technique and ingredients from Japan. I had done and used more chemical ingredients which can not be returned safely to the environment. I was very aware that it might fail and I probably would make mistakes along the way.
Preparing the wood ash and mixing the vat as it grows day by day, picture by Lau Kaker
The first day of making you prepare and heat up the local wood ash. You choose a good size stainless steel pot and start placing the amount of sukumo needed for the vat. From the prepared wood ashes you make wood ash water by pouring hot water over it. When the ashes settle at the bottom and the temperature is around 80 degrees you can pour it on the sukumo. You don’t pour the entire amount of water needed but add some day by day. As the days pass by, you add more wood ash water slowly decreasing the temperature of the water that you pour into 60 and 40, giving extra heat to the microbes and bacterias.
Everyday for about one week you need to stir the vat twice a day. When you visit the vat it is recommended to talk to it. You should check that the pH is stable (aiming for 11) and keep the temperature around 30-40 degrees.
Preparing the wheat porridge for feeding the vat and silver biofilm appearing the surface of the vat, picture by Lau Kaker
As you take care of the vat, you start to recognise the smell and surface changing. The indigo vat really enjoyed company and other visitors of BioClub coming in to whisper and tell stories. The bacterial biofilm started to appear on day 5 showing that the bacterias were healthy and after day 7 the vat was giving colour and ready for dyeing.
Pattern making tools and first indigo dye sample, pictures by Lau Kaker
During the week of creating the vat and caring for it, I was unable to think about anything else. I felt that the bacterias were resilient and they made their home inside the pot. Even if I made mistakes along the way, they adapted and we worked it out together. I felt very responsible for building them a home. I started thinking about the indigo vat in a more familiar and intimate way. Closeness grew as I checked on it multiple times a day and shared my stories with them.
Bacterial Stories
The stories we shared were collective. The organisms grew and changed inside the environment of the vat. Their lives became entangled with ours as we contaminated the vat with our skin. By being and surviving, they brought up questions about home, community, care, the Land, and our place as humans in this constellation.
Microscopic image of the top layer of the vat, picture by Lau Kaker
The smell of the vat didn't leave me. It would come back to me in certain moments when I was away. It revived the memories of it and smelled familiar. My experience and time in Japan has been shaped by the smell of indigo which became a constant smell. It brought me back to them and might have been a way for us to communicate with each other.
"Maintained for months at a time, the vat is sweet smelling and gives me great color. To gain a better understanding of how all the components work together, I have learned the subtleties of “reading” my vat, knowing when to add lime to adjust the pH or sugar to increase the reduction."
– The Science of Natural Dyes by Catharine Ellis (2013)
I visited and talked to the vat daily. I felt like it could sense my presence and the presence of other people visiting. We talked to the bacterias in different languages. Beyond words, and being present from its creation, I felt a deep connection to the vat. At times I did not need to speak with words, sitting next to it had a calming effect. I observed that the vat was very reactive and we would go through similar phases. By being, it taught me about the importance of community and collaboration to survive. The vat relies on the diversity of its microorganisms and human connection. Through spending time dyeing I could ground myself and experience a connection with a Land that is foreign to me.
As I built a home inside the laboratory of BioClub for the vat, the vat helped me feel at home in Tokyo. Collaborating with the vat brought me to meet wonderful and passionate people, to feel at the right place and time. A place I would like to return to, to see how the indigo vat has grown from all its future encounters.
Looking at the bacterias: microscopic images and agar plates
At different stages of the process I took samples of different parts of the vat, mostly from the wooden stirring stick and looked at them under the microscope. With Shohei Asami we also tried a specific alkaline recipe for agar plates and observed what grew from these. The communities of microorganisms were very active, we could see them moving under the microscope. They need to be together in the vat to make the indigo colour possible and it will take time before we can understand their ways of being.
Looking at the structure of the bacterias under the microscope and their colour changing with oxygen, Lau Kaker
Listening to the Vat: sound experiments
Listening to the sound of bacterias was quite hard taking the really noisy environment of Tokyo and their subtle whispers.
Hydrophone inside the indigo vat (on the right), picture by Lau Kaker
I recorded some sounds from the bottom layer, the top protective layer and the middle. A contact microphone was taped on the side of the pot and a hydrophone inside of the indigo vat. Beyond trying to record bacterial activity and sounds, I experimented with the moments of connection. I recorded dyeing sessions where participants interacted with the vat and dyeing pieces of textiles. The sound of dipping, flowing and dripping creates the soundscape. Our hands touch the indigo vat and the sounds reflect on the transformative processes.
Dyeing with Indigo at BioClub and Workshop
Thank you everyone for meeting the vat, connecting with the bacterias and trying indigo dyeing. We were all contaminated and were contaminated by the vat with our hands, voices and memories.
Dyeing session with Gina Goosby, Shohei Asami, Tim Krach, Dominique Vassie, Ananda Gabo
At the end of the residency we organised an indigo dyeing workshop inviting participants to communicate with the vat. Thank you to the participants and members of BioClub for sharing this moment!
"Considering the human environmental health issues related to the synthetic indigo, natural indigo can be a good choice which could be reintroduced into the market. But this requires indigo producers to get sufficient returns for what is a labor intensive process. If this occurs, then traditional indigo dyeing can significantly contribute to local economic activity and cultural traditions."
– Identity blues: the ethnobotany of the indigo dyeing by Landian Yao (Iu Mien) in Yunnan, Southwest China Shan Li, Anthony B. Cunningham, Ruyan Fan and Yuhua Wang (2019)
After the residency
The life of the indigo vat continues after the residency. The vat will stay in the laboratory of BioClub where members and artists will continue taking care of it and dyeing with it.
The hardest part of this process was not to create the vat but to leave it to grow after helping it to come to life. I hope to continue this research in the future visiting the vat again as well as meeting people working with indigo in different parts of Japan and the world. If you would like to collaborate, be in touch
Pictures of the workshop, Gina Goosby
Thank you
I want to thank all the amazing people I met during this research. Thank you, Bioart Society, BioClub Tokyo and the Finnish institute in Japan for making this research and residency possible. Thank you to the indigo masters Cozo Cazama, Masayasu Wakabayashi and Ayaki Shinada for sharing knowledge and trusting me. Thank you to members of BioClub – Tim Krach, Dominique Vassie, Ananda Gabo. Thank you Gina Goosby for your warm support at BioClub, Tsuyoshi Yagi for introducing me to textile makers in Fujiyoshida and Shohei Asami for sharing your knowledge and moments looking at the bacterias in the laboratory. Thank you to my peers, Nagisa Mizuno, Vytautas Bikauskas, Anna Mathot and Eetu Vekki for being a source of inspiration.