What Happens in a Humanities Lab: A World of Blue

Indigo has been used since ancient times by many different civilizations. Historically, the plant has been variously used, not only to dye textiles but also hair, parts of the body, as a pigment for art paintings and even as a medicine. This session will demonstrate how a traditional indigo vat is made using natural sugars. It will show how historically indigo has been used to dye and paint on cloth in India, and the different techniques used to obtain designs on cloth with this natural blue dye.

What Happens in a Humanities Lab is a new series of events, hosted by academics from across the humanities to bring their material culture specialisms into the lab in the form of practical skills workshops. They are available to staff and students across the whole University of Manchester. Sessions include artefacts and creative writing, indigo dyeing, building an origami disaster bowl, Early Modern candle making and mummifying an orange!

We’re encouraging creativity and discovery whilst learning new skills. Get creative in these workshops, collaborate with others from across the university and come see what a Humanities lab is all about.