Eco – colourants and Collage: Exploring natural colours extracted from ketapang leaves

Abstract

The application of synthetic colorants in visual arts can cause substantial risks to the health and well-being of artists. The hazardous compounds in some paintings, whether they are acrylics, oils or watercolors, can cause negative health and environmental consequences. This study aimed to produce artworks with eco-colourants extracted from ketapang leaves using the boiling water extraction method. The extraction was performed at a boil for 30 minutes in distilled water keeping the liquor ratio at 1:20. The pre-mordanted, as well as meta-mordanted cotton, linen, viscose and satin silk fabrics with 5 – 10% (owf) of alum and tunjung, were dipped in the eco-colourants extract solution for 30 minutes to complete the dyeing cycle. The liquor ratio used in dyeing procedures was 1:20 and 1:40. The dyed fabrics were then evaluated visually in terms of shades obtained and the applicability toward the production of collages. The interesting aspect of this study was that the application of different mordants gave a variety of hues, even though the extracted eco-colourants come from the same source. Generally, pre-treated fabrics with tunjung produced darker shades in comparison with alum. The collected information was analysed and successfully executed to produce final collage artworks. However, the effectiveness might depend on the skills, abilities, and knowledge to produce collage artwork products using dyed fabric with extracted eco-colourants from ketapang leaves. This study gives preliminary evidence that plant-derived eco-colourants can be used in the visual arts and that they should be investigated more in the future.