I’m quite proud of the writing in this one and it was nice to see my name in print. I used to be a full-time Fairfax journalist, but I haven’t written for any of the Melbourne or Sydney newspapers until now.
I was interested in this subject firstly as a photographer because colour theory is so key to our psychological responses when we view images.
It was also inspiring to interview a master on the subject of colour, who talked with such vivid, descriptive language. Keith Recker (a self-dubbed Chromosapien) experiences tone in such a unique way to the rest of us. As someone with Synesthesia, his senses encounter sound, smell and various visuals when he sees colour.
This article appeared on the cover of Melbourne's The Age and Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum insert. It'll hopefully be the beginning of my own forays into considering colour a little more closely when it comes to my photography. Excerpt below.
From primordial cave sketch to fashion billboard, every culture is shaped by colour. A toolkit of expression, pigments trigger and convey the senses. As light is projected through our optic nerve, we encounter memory, emotion, even taste.
Colour experts track each generation’s palette. Whether mid-war modesty or ’60s psychedelia, hues reflect history. Every object, fashion trend or Star Wars reboot is tinted by the stories of its time. Tones also predict social values; how we’ll feel and what we’ll value moving forward.
This era is no different. As headlines display nurses in surgical turquoise or the patriotic red of Trump’s tie, colour gurus take note, looking to the future while keeping one eye on the past.
If you’re interested in learning more about Keith he runs Table Magazine and has recently written True Colors: Worlds Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigments.
Banner image photo credit: Joe Coca for Thrums Books
Above Image courtesy of Beyond Blue.