Indigo dye, which is derived from Indigofera tinctoria, is deeply connected to craft traditions in cultures where the plant is endemic, such as the tropical regions of Western Africa, the stretch between Tanzania and South Africa, and the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia.
A laborious process of texturizing and fermentation creates a deep blue dye that continues to be one of the most sought-after natural pigments for textiles and garments. Indigo also fulfills a spiritual and social role in some cultures, like the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin or the Manding of Mali, whose dye-makers customarily perform rituals when beginning a new batch.
“Dry Season 2” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters
A product of time and expertise, indigo-dyed garments indicate prosperity, status, and identity. But the material also has a dark legacy as a commodity cultivated by enslaved people, especially in South Carolina, to fulfill the public’s demand for fabrics in the unique color. For Ugandan artist Stacy Gillian Abe, the medium provides the conceptual foundation for an ongoing series of bold figurative paintings.
Currently on view in her solo exhibition, Garden of Blue Whispers at Unit, provocative portrayals of Black women explore cultural heritage, history, gender, and personal memory. Individuals whose skin is a saturated blue signify what Abe calls a new “breed of Black” that “transcends social, cultural, and historical boundaries,” the gallery says, adding that while Abe nods to “a material that defined and confined the Black body through trade and labor, here it is reclaimed and reinterpreted.”
Abe also incorporates delicately embroidered flora and fauna to her canvases, creating textural vines, flowers, birds, and other embellishments. Having learned embroidery from her mother, who in turn learned it from hers, and so on, the artist taps into the way practical mending and crafts are often passed down through generations via women. Abe also commemorates her late grandmother, juxtaposing the personal with the universal.
In acrylic, oil, and thread, the artist renders pensive scenes that recall experiences in her village in Uganda. The women in her paintings commune with the earth; they are relaxed yet attuned as they explore or lounge in the grass, in some cases bearing hooves for feet as if hybridized with their wild surroundings. Some sleep, and others gaze directly at the viewer with piercing recognition.
“The Farmer’s Daughter 3” (2025) oil, acrylic, and hand-embroidered details on canvas, 200 x 150 centimeters
“By delicately hand-stitching silk thread directly onto the canvas, the artist transforms this domestic ritual into a meditative dialogue on the position of the Black woman’s body within painterly space,” Unit says. “The canvas becomes a site of refuge—an imagined garden—where her figures can exist freely, unbound by the world’s constraints.”
Garden of Blue Whispers continues through January 31 in London. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
Installation view of ‘Garden of Blue Whispers’ at Unit, London
“Termite Mound” (2025), acrylic and hand-embroidered details on canvas, 200 x 150 centimeters
Detail of “Termite Mound”
“Dry Season 1” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters
“The Garden 1” (2024), oil, acrylic, and hand-embroidered details on canvas, 200 x 150 centimeters
Detail of “The Garden 1”
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