Storytelling¶

At every waking moment, with each blink of the eye, we observe colour. It surrounds us quietly yet persistently—shaping the way we perceive the world, guiding our emotions, and marking the passage of time through subtle shifts in light and season. Sometimes we notice it, sometimes it simply lives around us, quietly shaping how we feel and where our attention rests. Colour is part of the rhythm of being alive—an ever-changing presence that connects us to the world, to the seasons, and to one another.

Have you ever wondered what stories colour can tell us about ourselves? The colours that surround us begin to mirror our inner landscapes—our moods, our histories, our connections to nature and to each other.

But how often do we stop and observe colour, consciously. How much thought do we give to how it effects us?

This story is of colour and the quiet power it holds over us.

It is through patience that nature reveals its hidden hues. By giving yourself time and simple observation, you open dialogues with these living colours. The stories they tell are merely the stories you hold within.

As a visual artist, colour is central to my work. In the recent years, my choice of colour has shifted to naturally derived colours. It was during these endless extractions and applications, that I noticed how much stronger the impact of these natural colours are on me. And I wondered, is it just me? Or do others feel as drawn to natural colours as I do.

What would happen, if we took a moment, to slow down and to allow colour to impact us.

A visual interpretation of the project, from colour extraction and application, showing details from the process of creating colour, to the final mood room.

The video will start with slow shots of the processes- close ups of details. Scouring, mordanting, colour extractions, immersing fabrics.. the sound will be of the actual noise of this processes. These shots will become more intense and faster as we go.

Upon colour production, we will hear parts of audio recordings from the interviews I conducted throughout the past month. The shots will get faster and more intense, parallel processes taking place at the same time, changing from shot to shot. Then stop. The final 30-40 secnds of the video will transport us to the "Mood Room" concept. A half moon structure that will be placed on a plateau in the village of Saghmosavan.

The shot will start as a close up of the monochromatic fabric. The shot will hold there for about 5 seconds, with the sound of silent breathing. Then, very slowly it will start to pull away. The more it moves away from the close capture, the more we will see the vast naturally dyed taffeta silk fabric. As it is pulling away from the close up shot the music of Tigran Hamasyan's "The Apple Orchard in Saghmosavanq" will start playing. It will move out of the structure that holds the fabric. The shot will move further and further away, to capture the structure in full. It will continue, showing the full structure from the outside, mirroring the landscape around it.

Through the interviews conducted, one thing became apparent. Colour observation mirrors the persons internal world. I would like to convey this through the structure being built with mirror metal sheets. Furthermore, the mirror will also allow the natural environment outside to be mirrored, thus making the structure alsmot invisibe until you are there to enter it.

Location¶

The "Mood Room" was always the final destination for this project. While I propose for this room to be in our houses, for the sake of conveying my concept, I have decided to create a prototype and place it on a very specific location.

In the village of Saghmosavan, Armenia, there is a patch of land that has long belonged to my family. It sits on a plateau, with the village behind it, the gorge surruonding it. On this specific site, I have dreams of building my house and cultivating the land. The way the house is designed is for it to serve primarily as a dye house, with its own dye garden. While the project of building this house is on halt, I have decided to place the Mood Room installation where the house is supposed to be- to symbolise the room within the architecture of both nature and later on the house.

Installation Inspiration¶

The shape and materials that have inspired the installation of the "Mood Room" come from the research that I have done, as well as the artists that I admire.

SHAPE¶

The shape of the "Mood Room" is inspired by the architecture of Musée de l'Orangerie, as was the colour immersion chamber.

I decided to take up the shape leaving both the ceiling and the enntrance open.

MATERIAL¶

To build the "Mood Room" prototype the builder and I had a long discussion, assessing which material will be easy to bend and install, giving us a chance to un-install it and re-install it in different locations later. We came to the conclusion that using metal would be durable and easily bendable.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, somehwere during the interviews I realised how much the participants are reflecting their inner world, through their observation of colour and answering the questions posed on them by me. I then decided that it would make sense to make the structure reflect the environment around it, using mirror metal sheets. Sort of like a capsule of emotions triggered by the monochromatic colour inside, while almost invisible from the outside.

Anish Kapoor

Anish Kapoor's work has validated my ideation.

FABRIC¶

During the project development, I worked with linens and cottons to create the swatches for the colour immersion interviews. However, for my final piece I have decided to work with taffeta silk. I like how it holds its strcture and the way that silk takes up natural dyes. Its natural shimmer gives the colours even more depth, pulling me close, like moth to a flame.