In conjunction with the launch of Miya Ando’s newest book Water of the Sky: A Dictionary of 2,000 Rain Words, published by The MIT Press, select indigo drawings by Miya Ando are currently on view, offering a preview of the solo indigo exhibition planned for the fall of 2026 at Sundaram Tagore New York.
Ando has previously used indigo dye to create moon drawings based on her keen observations of the night sky—each chronicling one specific moment in time. Most recently, as she wrote and illustrated Water of the Sky, Ando has turned her attention to rain, similarly capturing its evanescence in indigo.
Indigo is a material woven into Japan’s history as far back as the 6th century. For the Ando, it’s a visceral color that recalls memories of her early childhood spent with her grandparents in the Japanese countryside.
Ando borrows from the traditional Japanese indigo dyeing technique aizome, which allows her to use negative space to articulate the moon, stars and rain. Because indigo is sourced from a plant, every vat of dye Ando produces can result in slightly different hue. Paying homage to the tradition of Japanese papermaking, Ando uses kozo made from mulberry bark.
Ando continues to explore the light-reflecting properties of metal, one of her favored materials, even in her works on paper. Micronized pure silver powder enhances the effect of stars shimmering in the night sky and fleeting droplets of rain.