Building Connections

Abstract

The Amazon basin is a region that is constantly under threat and its forest cover shrinks in size daily by 10,000 acres. In 2021, over 4.8 million acres of Amazon rainforest was destroyed. Although most people think of Brazil when they hear about the Amazon, the central lowlands of my home country, Bolivia, is part of this imperiled ecosystem. The project entailed collecting Idiria leaves and branches, and Isigo tree sawdust from the Madidi National Park in eastern Bolivia to be processed by me and participating community members into natural dyes and pigments. The end goal of this project was to develop a robust art work product based on ethnobotanical and cultural resources. The initial stage focused on producing a background for each of the art pieces and eco prints that were developed using fallen foliage and flora of the surroundings in Madidi. The second stage incorporated natural dyes processed by me with local plant species previously mentioned. The third and final stage will be part of my thesis which includes presenting an art installation that uses natural dyes with a thematic focus on conservation. Once presented at the UMD and possibly other venues, I hope this will engender discussion about natural dyes and how they are a renewable and eco-friendly resource in fragile ecosystems much like the Madidi National Park.