Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Curtain with organic cotton fabrics dyed with natural dyes collected from a forest near the artist´s home: willow, birch, oak, walnut, mullein, nettles, ferns… 600 × 1100 cm Exposición ¡Doblad mis amores!, Collegium, Arévalo (Ávila) Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Curtain with organic cotton fabrics dyed with natural dyes collected from a forest near the artist´s home: willow, birch, oak, walnut, mullein, nettles, ferns… 600 × 1100 cm Exposición ¡Doblad mis amores!, Collegium, Arévalo (Ávila) Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Curtain with organic cotton fabrics dyed with natural dyes collected from a forest near the artist´s home: willow, birch, oak, walnut, mullein, nettles, ferns… 600 × 1100 cm Exposición ¡Doblad mis amores!, Collegium, Arévalo (Ávila) Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Curtain with organic cotton fabrics dyed with natural dyes collected from a forest near the artist´s home: willow, birch, oak, walnut, mullein, nettles, ferns… 600 × 1100 cm Exposición ¡Doblad mis amores!, Collegium, Arévalo (Ávila) Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Curtain with organic cotton fabrics dyed with natural dyes collected from a forest near the artist´s home: willow, birch, oak, walnut, mullein, nettles, ferns… 600 × 1100 cm Exposición ¡Doblad mis amores!, Collegium, Arévalo (Ávila) Photo by Roberto Ruiz
Amarillo es el bosque (Yellow is the forest), 2023
Site specific project for ¡Doblad mis amores!, curated by Chus Martínez, Collegium, Arévalo (Ávila, Spain)
"Javi and I live in a hut on a hill. In front of us there is a small forest for sale. The neighbours on both sides are cattle ranchers and are fighting for it. It is very profitable for them to buy it: they would cut down the trees, gain grazing land and get firewood in the process. I looked at him while he was nursing Marino: "We have to do something for this forest...".
This curtain is entirely made of dye material from that forest: laurel leaves, chestnut, willow, eucalyptus bark, birch, nettles, ferns, mullein, epilobium, ivy, chestnut hedgehogs, elder flowers... I have collected them little by little over the last year and a half. The curtain is an excuse to buy this forest and leave it free and wild."
Belén Rodriguez, February 2023
"...In this context, it is easy to guess what compelled Belén Rodríguez to examine different regional traditions relating to the use of plants for dying, especially along the north coast of Spain. Belén, who did part of her studies in Vienna, was overwhelmed by the exuberance of textiles used to cover the walls of certain imperial palaces, such as Schönbrunn, an 18th century building and one-time residence of Empress ‘Sisi’. Of course, travellers’ accounts describing Nature and historical buildings inspired the artists of the period to paint landscapes on the walls. The origin of the custom of wearing colorful clothes goes back to the wish to emulate the freshness and vibrancy of colors found in Nature. Tracing back the industrial history of dying to the plants all around us which are used for decorating our clothes and our homes is both an artistic exercise and a homage to all those who live in respect of the country, soil and water. Thanks to her wealth of knowledge and the patient beauty of her knowhow Belén has created a forest welcoming us all. By using natural pigments, she recreates their own essence and presents them to us with the joy of knowing that the woods are a permanent source of relief. You might well say that it’s only an abstract forest, but you wouldn’t say the same of our soil- stained hands and skin following an intense day of field labor. This earth is real and so is this forest, because the pigments are trees, they are the very substance of plants..."
Chus Martínez
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