Night Watch
Traditionally considered to represent calmness and harmony with all nature, the deep indigo blue cotton used on this column was sourced from Japan where indigo fabric has a long history with working people who were not legally allowed to wear bright colours.
Indigo can be dyed from light to deepest blue depending on the process and the plant. Here the fabric is patterned by carefully positioned bleached dots applied by hand.
Indigo can be dyed from light to deepest blue depending on the process and the plant. Here the fabric is patterned by carefully positioned bleached dots applied by hand.
Project Year
2025
Dimensions
97.5 x 10 x 10 in.
Materials
Indigo-dyed cotton with bleached pattern stretched over wooden column
Project Status
Completed
On this column the resemblance to the constellation of a night sky could well be considered as a proponent of peace and well being.
A sketch playing with the dot sizes using black acrylic.
Through bleaching, a calculated pattern of dots is applied to the cotton. One by one, each dot receives 3 coats of bleaching to find a specific position, size, and brilliance.
Tape is used here to section off the various dot sizes before the final coat of bleaching.
The second coat of bleach being applied.
As a result, the system of receding and advancing dots create a shifting form, unbound by the rigidity of the wooden post upon which the cotton is stretched.
Night Watch installed at Paul Kyle Gallery for the Summer Group show. Image by Mikayla Sousae.