Indigo: The Colour of India – Singh Twins Apron

Inspired by The Singh Twins’ artwork Indigo: The Colour of India (Slaves of Fashion series) 2018. This artwork explores stories around the blue dye extracted from the leaves of the Indigo plant, which is believed to have originated in India where is has been used for thousands of years. Indigo dye and textiles became highly desired across the globe – from the Far East and Africa, to Europe, North America and the West Indies. During the age of Colonialism and the British Empire control of the Indigo market was seized by European traders which caused much suffering to Indian farmers who were forced to grow indigo instead of food crops (leading to famine) and also enslaved Africans forced to work on the European owned indigo plantations in the Caribbean.