James Turell

Images: Bridget’s Bardo, light installation in Ganzfeld by James Turell, photography by Florian Holzherr

The color of silence (a witness of light) | Under construction

Since the beginning of my postgraduate studies (Beroepskunstenaar in de Klas) I’m more conscious of (Dutch) teaching methods at primary schools. Flowers are red and silence is told to be ’empty’, ‘calm’, ‘clean’ or ‘white’. But what is the effect of an overwhelming pink onto our brains? Which color do people see when they close their eyes or feel at ease or bright?

What are ways to transcend our psychological or emotional awareness of the world? If silence can be seen as a witness of light and activity, like a Moon reflects the light of the Sun, which colors do we absorb when we’re silent? Which colors are around or within us all the time, appearing gently after we’ll shut all the buttons of our electronic devices or start standing still for a longer time?
In his project Amrta (2011) James Turell used earlier research about the loss of gravity and orientation which pilots experience when they’re trying to navigate through dense fog. In fact fog consists of a mass of small water droplets.

The human body is composed of 60% of water. Do we see or hear differently when we’re physically surrounded by bricks or (reflected) light  at the water? What is the sound of silence in a tropical storm? How do people communicate about sounds if they don’t always experience it the same way?

‘The color of silence’ addresses new ways in which I observe, experience, play with and manage things in life since 2014. Maybe silence can be dark or green as well.

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Link to my abstract photography works: http://www.mathildejansen.com/category/p-r-o-j-e-c-t-s/walking-into-traces-of-the-future