Stillness Photography
by Simon Rose.
Intimacy in Colour
“To love beauty is to see light”
Victor Hugo.
In this project I wish to explore how our relationship with colour may inform us about ourselves.
What emotional responses, inner feelings and sensations are manifested through viewing the interplay of colour, shadow and light. Taking inspiration from Goethes' Colour Theory, which he intended as an experiential source of how colours are perceived and following onto Kandinskys' theories of colour relating to inner resonance, a deeper spiritual relationship with colour.
The artworks have a life of their own, having a translucent yet tactile nature they seem to have light emanating from within, thus enhancing the viewers sense of mystery, inviting us to explore every nuance.
“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”
We are pattern forming creatures. When we view an image our brain wants to find a familiar form that we can associate with. Even when looking at something abstract, our mind still searches for something to latch onto, to make sense of, to identify.
However, if we are attentive solely to the colour, gradient and texture, we may bypass the form seeking mind and move inward. In this method we can evoke the psychology of colour and how it affects our emotions.
For example, purple is connected to power, nobility, luxury, wisdom, and spirituality.
Blue may evoke feelings of stability, harmony, peace, calm and trust.
The red colour meaning is associated with excitement, passion, energy, and action.
In colour psychology, orange represents creativity, adventure, enthusiasm, success, and balance.
Growth, fertility, health, and generosity are some of the positive colour meanings for the colour green.
These are not hard and fast rules and our perceptions are open to our personal interpretation through our conditioning and experiences. It is a playful exploration that has subtle layers and nuances, as reflected in the compositions.
So by paying attention to the vibrancy and intimacy of colours and their interaction, a whole world, beyond the apparent, may open up and invite our exploration.
Combining our imagination with somatic experience and sensations reveals new information on our relationship to colour and how it affects our emotional landscape, moods and responses.
Thus colour can be used as a tool, a key to open the doors of perception.
These Painting with Light compositions were created in studio.
No photoshop has been used and only the minimal accepted tuning incorporated.
The images are available 100x150cm, printed on photographic paper and mounted behind matt acrylic glass.
