There are many black foods in Japan, all of which have long been valued for their rich nutritional content. Nori, used for sushi and rice balls, is one such example.
Do you know how the black colour of NORI is produced?
For example, the paint’s red, blue and yellow pigments are all mixed together to produce black.
Similarly, it is known that the better the NORI is, the blacker it is and the higher the grade, as it contains many ingredients such as red, green and blue. There are phycoerythrin, chlorophyll, phycocyanin and carotenoid.
Through experiments to extract the colour, we have glimpsed that phycoerythrin plays an important role in photosynthesis in the ocean, where sunlight is difficult to reach , in the same way as in forests. In order to visualize the existence of the red colour behind the black laver, we created works using cotton, silk and wool as media, as well as Japanese paper making, which led to the creation of the laver sheet.
STUDIO BYCOLOR is a design studio that derives its appeal from colours and materials,
through this experimental project ‘NORI PIGMENT: Pigment from the Sea’, we will deconstruct the deep and beautiful black colour of seaweed and explore the attractiveness of seaweed itself from the aspect of pigment.
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