Blue Notes
This work draws out the deep entanglements between plantation histories of indigo in the antebellum American South and in colonial Bengal. Lyrics of a Blues song, “Mood Indigo,” originally performed by Duke Ellington, are overlaid with the words to a Bengali protest song sung by indigo plantation laborers, titled “Nilkorer ki Attyachar.” The lyrics are made of pure indigo powder and laid on paper made by the artist from pulped blue jeans. The work can be shown alongside recordings of the two songs: “Mood Indigo” performed by Ella Fitzgerald and “Nilkorer ki Attyachar” performed by the artist's father, as well as the artist’s own translations of the two songs in both English and Bengali.
Blue Notes VI // 2021
Paper made from old blue jeans, indigofera tinctoria powder, adhesive
22 x 27 inches
Blue Notes IX // 2021
Paper made from old blue jeans, indigofera tinctoria powder, adhesive
22 x 27 inches
Blue Notes VII // 2021
Paper made from old blue jeans, indigofera tinctoria powder, adhesive
22 x 27 inches
Blue Notes VIII // 2021
Paper made from old blue jeans, indigofera tinctoria powder, adhesive
22 x 27 inches
Blue Notes X // 2021
Paper made from old blue jeans, indigofera tinctoria powder, adhesive
22 x 27 inches
