By drawing on personal and family experiences, I have looked at the extremely damaging effects of toxic textile dyes on us, our bodies, and the environment by connecting with local materials and knowledge, and making my own dyes out of exclusively recycled and foraged materials. I’ve focused specifically on my own family’s ties to the subject to create a much-needed personal and emotional connection between myself and the horrific damage of the dye industry that often goes unseen and undiscussed by those who don’t live in directly affected areas. Through experimentation and collaboration with the dyes I made, I aimed to create an emotive and visual response that makes people aware of the intricacies of the environmental damage of the dye industry of the Anthropocene.
Scarlett Freeman 
A Dyeing Art
IMAGE: Initial experimentation with making my own natural dyes
IMAGE: Further exploration, main 5 dyes (from left to right): Paprika, Blackcurrant jam, turmeric and parsley, onion skins, and spinach
IMAGE: Testing the different effects of dye on paper and fabric, homemade sketchbook
IMAGE: Accumulation of all dyed fabrics and string
IMAGE: Gradient of dyes left to right: Turmeric, coffee, onion skins, paprika, blackcurrant jam, spinach, none
IMAGE: Triptych of dyed fabric, sewn into with black thread and then painted onto with other colours of dye. Maps of rivers badly affected by dyeing industry. Areas left to right: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dhaka.
IMAGE: Details
IMAGE: Interconnected