In the coating industry, we often think of colour as the finishing touch applied on surfaces. As accurate as this is, there are other ways one could approach colours, experimenting with their potential uses and finding new inspirations.
For instance, French architect Emmanuelle Moureaux, inspired by the layers and colours of Tokyo, created the concept of shikiri, a made-up word that literally means "Dividing and creating space with colours", therefore using colours as three-dimensional elements, like layers, in order to create spaces.
Her latest experimentation, "COLOR OF TIME" allows observers to experience the passage of time through colour.
The art installation was created as part of an exhibition called "Art and Design, dialogue with materials" for the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art & Design in Toyama, Japan, which aims to introduce different characteristics and attractiveness of materials such as wood, metal and new forefront materials, shaped into various forms by artists and designers.
In this context, Emmanuelle decided to work with paper, combining the sensory element "colour", and the mathematical element "time".
The space was composed by approximately 120,000 numeral figures from "0" to "9", and the symbol ":", regularly aligned in three-dimensional grids. The numbers turn over 100 shades of colour that represent the passing of time – from sunrise at 6:30 characterized by pale shades that gradually become darker as time flows, finally turning into black at 19:49.
Visitors, immersed in the installation itself, can witness a colour (and time) changing experience of 799 minutes.