Colour Theory by Plants is a commission work for Borås Art Biennial 2026. It was created in close dialogue with the city gardeners as part of the Biennial’s inaugural collaboration with the Borås Flower Programme, the city’s annual flower display.
The work shows useful and decorative plants that have been used in traditional plant dyeing practices in pre-industrial times. It draws connections through time not only in relation to textile production practices but also between natural processes of water circulation, the early industrial use of the river Viskan as a source of water intake and discharge, and the complex network of pipes in the modern sewage system.
The plants for the work were selected and organised around four colour themes, based on the shades obtained in the dyeing process. The planting patterns were inspired by the manhole covers in Borås.
The plantings of The Flower Programme are installed throughout the city including, in the City Park where early textile dyeing factories were located, in the Annelunds Park – created by a wealthy factory owner – and by Druvefors hydropower dam and the Railway station, both originally built to serve the industry.
