Ink, invented around 2500BCE and initially being carbon black, is today a medium we use every day and which has gone through extensive chemical transformations. I began with a fascination with the accessibility of ink and its importance in our daily lives. I questioned how common ink really is — comprised solely of two parts: a pigment (colour) and a carrier (glue or the Arabic gum) — and began to create inks from objects found within my home.

Ink’s simplicity and permanence was my starting point, and I wanted to further explore making my own ink. I started by creating multiple inks with different ingredients from my kitchen, and chose three which interested me most: raw raspberry ink, raw turmeric root ink and ground coffee ink. I chose these three inks as each one was made in a unique way and differentiated in colour, opacity and texture. In developing and testing these inks I trained my eye on my domestic environment, documenting what makes it a home using this new medium I was developing uniquely from objects within it.

While making the inks I noticed how ink as a medium on its own is very expressive. I wanted my ink studies to represent the natural qualities of the unique inks I had made. Rather than controlling the medium to create a desired outcome, I drew freely and allowed the ink to speak for itself: scenes and images emerged from what I was seeing around me, and also the particular behaviour and performance of these domestic inks.