Color as a word. The photographed word. It is color trying to explain itself. Literally. Intangibles, colors are merely conventions, abstract concepts. We cannot tell if people see colors exactly in the same way. So, in an attempt to find a common denominator, names are given to colors, names of "things". But do people really realize why colors have the names they have?
By photographing those "things", we invite one to reflect, playfully, on both signs: visual and verbal. The photography allows us to play this game because it brings us the original referent to sight, the one that, in the ordinary use of words, turns into something as abstract as the color it refers to.
This work has led to an exhibition and an artist's book, published independently in 2009 with 58 colors and republished in 2014, with 70 colors.
By photographing those "things", we invite one to reflect, playfully, on both signs: visual and verbal. The photography allows us to play this game because it brings us the original referent to sight, the one that, in the ordinary use of words, turns into something as abstract as the color it refers to.
This work has led to an exhibition and an artist's book, published independently in 2009 with 58 colors and republished in 2014, with 70 colors.
Some colors-things that appear in the book:
Violet | Violeta
Mountain Blue | Azul Montanha
Sky Blue | Azul Celeste
Underpants Blue | Azul Calcinha
Moss Green | Verde Musgo
Lemon Green | Verde Limão
Olive Green | Verde Oliva
Honey | Cor de Mel
Egg Yellow | Amarelo Ovo
Orange | Cor de Laranja
Carrot | Cenoura
Tomato Red | Vermelho Tomate
Bloody Red | Vermelho Sangue
Rose | Cor de Rosa
Antique Rose | Rosa Antigo
Salmon | Salmão
Rust | Ferrugem
Color of the donkey when fleeing | Cor de burro quando foge*
*Brazilian popular expression for a dull color
*Brazilian popular expression for a dull color
