Recreating the Colors of Life with Natural Dyeing Techniques! Starting today (the 6th), the Taichung City Cultural Bureau is holding the "Faces of Formosa – Classic Colors of Taiwan Exhibition" at the Fiber Art Museum. This exhibition features 100 selected everyday colors of Taiwan, scientifically analyzed by Chen Jinglin, who has long focused on natural dyeing techniques. The colors are displayed in the museum's hall in color combinations inspired by the 24 solar terms, reflecting Taiwan's natural imagery. The exhibition will run from today until November 17. Come and find your own "classic color"!

"The colors of nature are hidden in the soil, minerals, plants, and animals, serving as natural dye materials!" said Cultural Bureau Director Chen Jiajun, representing Mayor Lu Xiuyan at the opening ceremony. The Taichung City Fiber Art Museum has long been dedicated to the research and development of Taiwan's natural dyeing resources. Following the publication of the book "The Splendor of the Earth: A Compendium of Taiwan's Natural Dyes" in 2022, and with continued support from the Ministry of Culture over the past two years, the museum has commissioned dyeing experts Chen Jinglin and Ma Yuxiu to conduct the "Natural Classic Colors Research Project." This project aims to identify consensus colors within cultural contexts from natural dye materials, expanding the original 64 colors to 100.

Director Chen also mentioned that, in addition to establishing a database of Taiwan's natural dyeing techniques and a cultural imagery color system, the exhibition specifically incorporates the color associations and combinations related to the 24 solar terms, such as the Beginning of Spring, Awakening of Insects, Qingming, and Grain Rain. This aims to explore the color culture that has emerged in Taiwan's unique living environment, resonating with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) vision. He hopes to further integrate this with the fashion industry in the future, allowing more people to experience the charm of Taiwanese colors.

"The colors of nature are the most beautiful because they are natural!" said curator Chen Jinglin. He noted that nature provides an inexhaustible and unlimited resource. Taiwan is home to 8,000 species of higher plants, among which there are thousands that can be used to extract colors. After countless attempts with natural dyeing techniques, they finally found the "key" to unlock the knowledge system, integrating experiments to produce 100 familiar natural colors, and establishing color systems, color names, dyeing formulas, and applications for color combinations.

For example, watermelon red, pumpkin orange, banana yellow, rice green, indigo, eggplant purple, kelp brown, milk tea color, cement gray, charcoal black, etc., allow the audience to associate the types and differences of colors through commonly seen objects in daily life, constructing the aesthetic imagery of natural dyeing in Taiwan.

The Fiber Art Museum pointed out that this exhibition is a collaboration between national artisans and designers, including dyeing artisans such as Chen Ru-Ping, Lin Chieh-Yi, Liu Jun-Qing, Hsieh Kuo-Peng, Li Wu-Hu, Sun Cui-Lan, Chen Mian-Yin, Chen Li-Fen, and the Yilan Dyeing Workshop Association, as well as fashion designers like Hsu Yen-Ling, Hsu Chiu-Yi, Chen Yi-Yu, Lu Jin-Mei, Zeng Qi-Ting, and Sun Chia-Hsuan. The exhibition showcases remarkable works that combine Taiwanese cultural imagery with fashion trends, highlighting the application of natural dyeing techniques in life design.

The exhibition establishes a connection between natural dyeing and Taiwanese cultural imagery, showcasing how the craft of natural dyeing is rooted in local traditions while also bridging the cultural inclusivity of international fashion. It allows the audience to find experiences and resonance from their everyday context.

"The Beauty of Formosa - Classic Taiwan Color Exhibition" is on display at the Taichung Fiber Art Museum from now until November 17. During the exhibition period, a series of special guided tours will be held. On November 2 and 3, there will also be a Taiwan-Japan-Korea International Natural Dyeing Exchange Demonstration and a Taiwan Natural Dye Flash Exhibition, among other related activities. For more information about the events, please visit the Fiber Art Museum's official website (https://mofia.taichung.gov.tw/) or their Facebook fan page.

Today's opening event includes approximately 200 distinguished guests, such as Presidential Office Policy Advisor Weng Jin-zhu, Vice President of the National Culture Association Jiang Chun-nan, Director of the National Palace Museum Hsiao Tsung-huang, City Councilor Li Tian-sheng, Director of the Taichung City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau Chen Chia-chun, Director of the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Center Chen Dian-li, former Director Weng Hsu-te, President of the Taiwan Craft Alliance Chen Qi-cun, Taichung City Dali District Chief Zheng Zheng-zhong, Dali District Guoguang Village Chief Wei Yi-chuan, Director of Kinmen County Cultural Affairs Bureau Lu Kun-he, Chairman of the Nantou County Cultural Heritage Society Liang Zhi-zhong, Living National Treasure Zhang Xian-ping, Huang Lan-ye and Huang Li-shu, Honorary Professor of National Chung Hsing University Zhang Feng-ji, as well as participating craftsmen, designers, and teams. Legislative Yuan Vice President Jiang Qi-chen, City Councilor Su Bo-xing, and Zhang Fen-yu also sent representatives to join the celebration.