Āloka Blue is a collaborative cyanotype studio led by artists Arunima Nair and Sarita Slater. Our work draws on our South Asian heritage, ancestral stories and our connection to nature and the land around us.
Using the traditional cyanotype process, we create one-of-a-kind works with sunlight and water on raw silk, handmade treeless paper and natural fibres. We bring together native plants with imagery, patterns and symbols drawn from South Asian cultural and spiritual traditions. Through these layers, we explore ancestry, migration, memory, femininity and belonging.
Our collaboration began through a shared love of poetry and photography and naturally grew into printmaking and visual art. We were both drawn to the slowness of cyanotype and the way it asks us to observe, experiment and give up some control over the final outcome.
At the heart of Āloka Blue is an interest in what we carry with us across generations and places. Our work is about staying connected to where we come from while responding to where we are now. We explore what it means to set down roots in a new place while continuing to carry the stories, traditions and cultural knowledge that came before us.