SPCS Talks. Vol 4 | Colours Cross-borders with Wild Dot SG

Over 2 months from April to June this year, SPCS held a workshop under the guidance of Katsunobu Yoshida – a graphic designer based in Yamagata, Japan who works through fieldwork and prototyping. The workshop explored the question of ‘How will embracing instability change the future of expression and manufacturing?’ as participants created ink from foraged materials, aiming to create colours different from the stable pigments already developed for mass production.

Grinding, boiling, refining different materials to create both pigments and mediums. Photo Credits: FabCafe Kyoto

The workshop ended in an exhibition where over 30 different ink projects were introduced – ink made from leftover vegetable and fruit peel, ink made from invasive species causing headaches in agriculture, ink made from fur to immortalize a beloved pet. To share the stories and ideas behind each ink beyond the exhibition, a number of the participants came together to record these inks and their recipes in a book. “Designing Instability – 22 Foraged Inks and Their Recipes” is the culmination of half a year of ordinary people creating colours from their surroundings.

The recipe book of foraged inks depicts the journey of the participants and their results. The set also includes a poster documenting a few of the research notebooks that were used. Photo Credits: FabCafe Kyoto

Much of our modern colouring materials are mass-manufactured and engineered to retain their hue, so many of the participants experienced creating colours from foraged materials for the first time through this workshop. Yet, foraging colours is a practice as ancient as cave paintings. In this extremely localised and ancient work, are there differences in the practices from different areas? We link up with Wild Dot, another foraging ink partner from across Asia to discuss the topic of foraging ink.

Shirin Rafie and Liz Liu have been creating botanical inks in Singapore using flowers and tree branches from local gardens and farms since 2019. The duo now work under the name Wild Dot and offer educational and hands-on programs for corporates, schools and individuals.

Wild Dot in the wild. Photo Credits: Wild Dot Instagram

In their work, the local flora are not just viewed as ingredients, but they see their work itself as a way to understand and connect with the natural world. And this also goes for every individual they work with, whether it be students who gather materials from their school gardens or educators who they work with to incorporate such collaboration with nature into daily school activities. 

In 2021, with support from the Good Design Research (GDR) initiative, they began to work on a database of pigments from a variety of trees, and experimented with turning them into watercolour paints and even milk paints. While these methods of making pigments are familiar to indigenous communities in the region, there is little knowledge about it in Singapore. 

Their work eventually evolved from designing colours to developing ways to share knowledge, creating experiences and also a kit to DIY your own paints. In this way they explore how traditional knowledge about natural paints can become relevant again, especially with increasing conversations about conservation and the relationship between humans and nature. 

L-R Watercolour paint kits with palettes upcycled from offcut wood. Colour experimentation with different additives. Photo Credit: Wild Dot Instagram

• This event is held offline in Singapore, but will be broadcasted online.
• This event will be held in English. Subtitles will be available on the Youtube link after the event.
• Photos of participants and the event may be uploaded to the FabCafe Kyoto/Loftwork.com website at a later date
• We reserve the right to change this program with no prior notice.