Kakishibu Dyed Fish Leather

A series of six images depicting the Kakishibu dyeing process. The top two images show slices of persimmons, the middle two show the brown shades of juice distilled from the fruit, and the bottom two show a swatch of fish skin being dyed brown with the juice.
(Image courtesy of Elisa Palomino-Perez)

Artist Harukaa Takei dyes fish skin using the traditional Japanese method known as Kakishibu. To yield the earthy brown tones characteristic of Kakishibu the material is soaked in the fermented juice of unripened persimmons, which is packed with tannins, and allowed to oxidize. Varying durations of air and sunlight exposure make for different vivid hues.


 

Tags: Art