Yto Barrada
Velvet collage #2, 2019
Fabric mounted on board
62,5 cm × 87 cm, each of 2
© Yto Barrada, courtesy Pace Gallery; Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, Beirut; and Galerie Polaris, Paris
Photography by Christine Ann Jones, courtesy Pace Gallery

These collages are natural dye samplers, each one a guide to possible tones one can create from various plants and insects. Natural dye gardens are spaces in which to acquire, and reacquire, endangered knowledge about the natural environment that reconnects us to autonomy, empowerment, and sustainability in a world in climate crisis.

These works were originally produced for Barrada's 2019 exhibition Double Skin, at Casa Luis Barragán (Mexico City), curated by Eugenia Braniff and Patrick Charpenel. Casa Luis Barragán hosts the cultural and artistic platform Estancia Femsa who organize exhibitions that establish a dialogue between the legacy of Mexican architect and engineer Luis Barragán and the international modern and contemporary art context.