San Mei is please to present an online screening of Looking for Rubia Tinctorum, a moving image work by Gal Leshem.

Looking for Rubia Tinctorum is an ongoing research project, tracing the histories of the Rubia Tintcorum plant, commonly known as Dyer's madder. For centuries madder was used as a main dyestuff for red textiles across north Africa, India and the middle east. The mysterious dyeing process for making the sought after Turkey Red was kept a secret until the 18th Century, when European chemists appropriated it from Greek and Turkish dyers.



In 2020’s spring lockdown, Gal Leshem went with her mother on a road trip in Israel, looking for the Rubia Tinctorum’s plant. Leshem’s large textile installation Dragon on Adrianople’s Red is part of this ongoing research project. The piece is currently on show at San Mei Gallery, part of the group show Thought Threads.