A Colourful Story

It’s day 3 and time to talk about another recent project of mine. It’s a little less heavy than the previous Sister project, but still very close to my heart (if I can say that about this type of project?).

The project was designed to cover my affections for fluorescent light and its powerful effect on my emotions. It was like I was trying to show the audience how it makes me feel, but without plainly explaining it. This project has influences of photographers such as Troy Paiva and Gregory Crewdson – but also Dan Flavin (which I will explain as I come to it).

The project is called Electric Vision – I had no choice on this matter, it being a university project and all...but that’s fine, it tied in brilliantly with what I had in mind.

Being immersed in a space of light and colour makes me feel fuzzy inside, ever since I was a little girl light and colour has just fascinated me. Every chance I get, I buy and collect any fairy lights and plasma orbs, twinkly sparklers and glow sticks – It’s almost as if I crave the feeling I get when I am immersed in the colours. I like to mix them up – maybe red and blue to make a beautiful purple in the middle, it fills me up with the colours and it’s great. Capturing this joy was the hard part, the first set of images was pretty much unsuccessful, I started in a literal sense – attempting to capture the atmosphere whilst being immersed in the light.

A more successful attempt came from a very lucky moment. You know those nights where the fog is so thick, you can only see a few yards, and all the street lights are collected and dispersed throughout the cloud of fog – where it’s like everything is at a standstill as you take in the atmosphere? Well I do, it happened whilst I was thinking about this project. 

Yeah, massive danger of becoming THE most cliché captured moment, but you know what? The moment was amazing and without having to do anything the feeling I crave was set out for me, and it was very powerful.

So I started to think, portraying this emotion like this might work if I search for environments where light and colour play a big part. This also, being quite unsuccessful – with again, very cliché results!

So it was time to try something different, trying to make somebody feel how I felt when immersed in light and colour was proving difficult, using photographs – so here lies where I had a look at Dan Flavin’s work. Dan Flavin uses installations with various fluorescent coloured tubes and shapes, creating visual and atmospheric effects.

This is much more like it, his use of space and fluorescent colour creates really atmospheric situations, well worth a look at some point if you spot an exhibition, most importantly – let me know so I can experience it!

This brings me to my conclusion, an installation bringing these elements of light, colour and space together to make an atmosphere that others could experience, and have their own feelings whether good or bad, it was there to experience.

Ok, so agreed these aren’t the best sketch ups but they do the trick I guess.

The installation was a space big enough for one person, to stand or to sit, to be completely immersed in light and colour; with the only light in the room being from the installation. One of the panels was left open for people to walk in and out. The space was filled with RED light which coincides with the installation being named RED. I used the colour of red for its positive and negative elements. 

RED. Physical Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity, excitement.  Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain. Being the longest wavelength, red is a powerful colour. Although not technically the most visible, it has the property of appearing to be nearer than it is and therefore it grabs our attention first. Hence its effectiveness in traffic lights the world over. Its effect is physical; it stimulates us and raises the pulse rate, giving the impression that time is passing faster than it is. It relates to the masculine principle and can activate the "fight or flight" instinct. Red is strong, and very basic. Pure red is the simplest colour, with no subtlety. It is stimulating and lively, very friendly. At the same time, it can be perceived as demanding and aggressive.

As well as being immersed in the powerful RED energy, I decided to add a different element into the installation. A camera was installed just above the lights, facing into the space onto whoever was inside. This live image was then projected onto one of the outside panels for the audience to see. (Demonstrated here as a see through panel...)

This resulted in a space where both participants could be involved, one being inside the space and the other viewing from the outside, the idea being I could receive a mixed reaction from the audience.

Was it successful?

Success, being an odd word for a university project because I guess it’s not really the point? The installation was a big risk, definitely a big step away from being behind the camera, you could say it was a bit of ‘out of the box’ thinking. But really, in my view it was the only way to portray the fuzziness inside to other people. 

Now, RED being described as being both a positive and a negative in the sense of emotional connections; the resulting reviews of the installation were both positive and negative (In the way that the installation piece made the individual feel inside rather than the quality and presentation etc...).

Some individuals explained that the space made them feel funny, in a good way, and that it was an exciting experience to be a part of. 

Other’s had said that the experience was quite negative, being on show to the audience whilst being confined to a small space full of redness. One individual described it as being tense and uncomfortable, and the red being an overpowering force in the confined space.

Overall in the broadest sense, the installation was a success – portraying a feeling that others could experience, I am sorry I don’t have any pictures from it though!