KOCHI: Colour has always fascinated with its brightness and depth. And the ‘Blue Latte: Narratives of Today in Colour’ jointly hosted by George Abraham, creative director of Hue & Why and Susan Mathen, colour strategist, at the Ledhi Art Cafe in Kochi, attempts to bring a set of cultural narratives through colour palettes.
The four cultural narratives presented at the exhibition are the Roosegarde, Julieta, Slow and Chusky Pop. Each cultural narrative has been identified through research and the same has been translated into a series of paintings. “These are stories that are influencing the way we behave, the emotions we display, the things we aspire for and the causes we fight for,” say the organisers.
Four Stories
The Roosegarde Narrative is based on the need to appear pristine, pure and extremely clean in a world where there is a lot of pollution. It is an aspiration to wear whites and pastel shades. The story is named after a Dutch innovator who came up with an idea of converting the carbon particles in pollution into sparkling diamonds. The paintings pose the question whether we are being obsessed with this desire to be spotlessly clean.
The Julieta Narrative colour story is based on the cultural shift from ‘the attempt to be proper and postured’to ‘an uninhibited acceptance and celebration of all emotions’ Today we live in a social media world where we try to put forward our happiest moments, our best images and hide all imperfections. The truth is that we are all flawed, and we feel all emotions - including those that are not accepted, like jealousy, anger, sorrow and more. This story is about uninhibited, raw, real and honest emotions.
The Chuski Pop Narrative: The fight for gender equality has adopted a new tonality. One that is more confident, unconventional and witty.
This new breed of crusaders are having fun while they are at it - cracking jokes, quoting intellectuals, chasing success and creating their own niche. These desi (Indian) thinkers are overtly sensual, surprisingly quirky and digitally savvy. It is literally, a new wave, one that is turbulent, yet strong and beautiful.
The Slow Narrative is about the need to escape the chaos of urban city life and to slow down. This movement started with ‘slow food’ which is the opposite of fast food where you get to sit down and enjoy each bite of your food. Slow life is about being able to enjoy each moment, to be away from the constant pings of your phone notifications, emails and the fast paced city life. The exhibition is on till
Nov 30.