Colour only exists within our mind; it is the most elusive of all our worldly experiences. Objects do not possess colour they only reflect light. When our mother pointed to a fire engine in a storybook and told us it was red, our brain perceived it as a colour, but colour is only a collective mind map we “learn” from, or, that can relate a particular “colour” to other individuals in society.
It is from this premise that “Black Sun” was conceived. It is a continuation of one of the artist’s favorite themes, the relationship between perception, language and visual senses. The artist systematically and meticulously retrieved adjectives describing colour from various sources. Then, with the diligence of a lexicographer, the words were ordered alphabetically to form the parameter of a circle, a container.
Our evolution and the very fabric of human societies have relied on the certainty of our shared colour perception. In our past, certain colours were exclusive to Kings or senators. Our safety relies on the change from red to amber to green. International corporations patient their brand colour. Colour conditions our perception of the world but yet, is conveyed mainly as vocabulary. The descriptive power words have on colour is evident when the viewer begins to read the text that binds the work. Florentine brown, willow green, midnight blue. These evocative adjectives have a power to conjure the subtle colour tones they allude to but it is all in the mind! Therefore the artist uses black, (the only true sensation our eyes and brain distinguishes, as it derives from the lack of light) to place emphasis on our linguistic reliance. The work becomes a poetic celebration of our communicative abilities. Into this mix, a bright, striking colour is used to represent the one ‘non-colour’. Black. With this play of words and light the artist shifts the viewers concept of the colours chronicled in the circle. It encourages the observer to experience and form his or her own interpretation of the depiction of colour. The image accentuates our innate ability to translate our environment.
