The extraction of color from the eleven plant species that were experimented with involves similar processes: it is necessary to macerate or grate the part of the plant that produces the color —leaf, seed, bark, fruit, fruit peel, or rhizome, depending on the case— and then add water. Afterwards, depending on the plant, various processes may be required, such as applying heat or using other natural elements to fix or transform the color. Among these:

Water:
dissolves the color.

Fire:
extracts the color through boiling.

Lemon:
natural catalyst that lightens colors.

White clay:
color diffuser, used to create pastel tones.

Alum stone:
mordant, sets the color.

For Indigenous peoples, color is associated with ritual. In this project, the ritual is organized and documented. The ceremony is crafted and conceived so that, together with images and sounds, it becomes a work of art that highlights the importance of the process and of collective labor.

This practice uncovers color palettes that did not previously exist. Within them, the simple naming of a color—such as red or green—is not possible. Colors, their variations, and subtle shades emerge through process and experimentation, through trial and error, through spontaneous pouring and slow drying, through music and through journeying. In this way, color becomes a product close to science and, at the same time, an act of art.

The work presented in this book reconsiders the inscription of nature onto surfaces and the role of chance in the creative process. Painting—and more precisely, color—takes over the space; but without the sounds of the jungle, the plants, the herbariums, the documents, the monotypes, the archives, and the moving image, it would lose its magic. The power of this work—worth emphasizing—lies in embracing the creation of color as a ritual process.

Here, wonder is produced by collective work. More than a finished piece, we are witnessing an archival or laboratory work that moves with equal interest from abstraction to expressionism, from anthropology to botany. Each color is a discovery, an opportunity to understand the geographic place. This work synchronizes art with community work and botanical knowledge, thereby proposing an artistic ecology. The color of the jungle is thus recontextualized and re-signified.

A very special thanks to Kasia and Tomasa; to Verónica, Kathy, Jaime, Daniel, Arturo, Mónica, Celcida, and the rest of the Huitoto family at kilometer 11 of Leticia.

To the colleagues, advisors, and friends who offered guidance and shared their knowledge:
Jairo Upegui (journeys, herbarium, ideas, and companionship)
Eduardo Arango (journeys and ideas)
Jorge Montoya (journeys, photography, and gardening)
Viviana Palacio (ideas and reflections)
Esteban Uribe (video)
Nicolás Wills (music and video sound)
Carlos Tobón (photography)
Ángela María Restrepo (monotypes, ideas, and companionship)
Alberto Sierra (advisor and companion)
Julián Posada (advisor and companion)
Álvaro Cogollo (botanical consulting)
Juan Álvaro Echeverri (information in Leticia)
Johana Bojanini (illustrations)
Elvis Peña, in Leticia, Amazonas (Amazon companionship)
Marta Lopera (weaver)
José Reyes, in Leticia, Amazonas (guide and driver)
Juan Luis Mejía
Héctor Abad Faciolince
José Ignacio Roca

To my studio team:
Daniel Montoya
Margarita Rada
Elisa Echavarría
Lina Rada