Summer Solstice 2024
On the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, I set out to explore the colours of light—the seven hues of the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. I was curious to see if these colours could be found walking in my surrounding suburban landscape.
My experiences and discoveries were captured through pigment rubbings, photography, and poetry.
In solitude, but accompanied by summer solstice,
I walk through damp morning grass,
seeking the colours of light.
Instantly greeted by the radiant Dyer's Chamomile,
an intensity as eternal as the sun.
"But a sun is nothing without a sky,"
whispers the heavenly Chicory as I pass.
And there, nestled and quiet—
the modest Ribwort Plantain,
a healer in the wild, standing firm in place,
rich with ancient wisdom.
Further along,
a single Poppy sways,
effortless in the wind,
both fragile and fierce.
I continue,
warmed by fiery Marigolds,
petals like bursts of flame,
whispering tales of birth and decay.
The Greater Knapweed calls—
beckoning with clouds of bees,
thriving, resilient in the summer sun.
My journey nearing its end,
I return to my dye garden.
The deep Indigofera tinctoria waits,
its dark hue barely visible,
lingering on the edge of the leaf.
I stand in awe,
humbly embedded in colour.
