In his work ‘Spectre’, Sohorab Rabbey blends various media with liquid indigo dye applied on paper, reflecting his profound contemplation of natural and cultural heritage. The piece incorporates archival images of Indigofera (the original source of indigo dye) from Western botanical repositories, alongside photographs of Bangladeshi indigo plantations, revealing the significant role this plant has played in global culture. Utilizing LED lightboxes, the artist merges these elements to create a rich visual experience. The shifting light and shadows within the lightboxes animate the static images, as if reconnecting memories with the present, while also reflecting the profound transformations of traditional crafts and natural resources in the context of globalization.
In the presentation herbarium images of the indigo plant surrounded by measurement scales, maps and institutional stamps presented in a modernist, but non-linear and layered manner into the Lightbox display evokes the production factory and spectral history around it. Though the elements of the work can refer to South Asia, if we make an attentive gaze at the subject matter, It will decipher a global network of commodities produced through transportation, transplantation and exploitation by looking at the complexity of Indigo production. These are then subjected to a process of negation, not quite invisibilisation: but to make the exploitation more visible: the prints go through many different handmade printing techniques and overlays of the colour indigo.
