The Oaxaca Vibe

Many of my friends will tell you that I am pretty liable to suddenly stand up and declare;- “And now… time for something completely different!”.

As one who naturally seeks novelty I am often out on an adventure of sorts. During a recent adventure I found myself in the state of Oaxaca in South-West Mexico.

Oaxaca City is a textile nerd paradise. I loved it. Here I had the privilege of visiting a number of artists who worked with natural dyes, creating a dazzling array of hand-woven wooden rugs in the tradition of their Zapotec heritage. We actually cycled to visit some of these artists - bikes and textiles, what a dream! And there is a lot of good street art in Oaxaca too.

As an artist who also works to adapt a tradition, seeing all of this was super interesting. The playful way artists reimagined shapes, abstracted pattern and colours into something very fresh and contemporary. It was a visceral reminder that we can simultaneously respect history whilst also creating anew.

In Mexico the traditional natural dyes used included the mighty indigo (blue) , cochineal (pinks and reds), and marigolds (yellow). The shells of pecan nuts and their leaves can be used to create browns and blacks due to the high tannin content. Many of the artists grew their colours near their studios, gathering them seasonally for dyeing.

Natural dyes have been used globally across many thousands of years. It was lovely to see that although we are physically thousands of miles apart in many other ways we are also so far apart.

I also met an amazing woman called Josephinea, who's been working with natural dyes for over 25 years. We spent the day dyeing wool together.
This amazing human being founded a workers Co-Op, using Zapotec traditions to create rugs. The income this brought into the Co-Operative allowed other women to escape dodgy domestic situations and live a life free of abuse. I love that she used textiles and plants as a way to help herself and others heal. It is such a good counter-story to the long history of textiles, which is inherently tied up with the history of women’s work and social injustice. Josephina shows us that another world is possible. What an inspiration.

I will let these pictures do the rest of the talking. :)

For anyone travelling to the area I’d recommend:
Tlayudona Tours - female led, community first tours
Beto Ruiz - contemporary deconstructed Zapotec rugs
Espacio Zapata - DIY Art scene