Cooke Optics has announced Colour, a curated exhibition exploring the intricate role that colour can play in life and on screen.
In the exhibition, visitors will find films and explainers presented chronologically, where colour “becomes a character in its own right, expanding beyond the technical to reveal how it’s a powerful storytelling tool, an emotional guide, and a vehicle for meaning”, Cooke revealed.
“Every hue, every shade, and every contrast within a film can be carefully chosen to craft a particular mood, evoke specific emotions, or symbolise deeper themes.”
The exhibition also aims to inspire people to consider colour in their own work, highlighting the attainability of its power regardless of equipment or budget.
From the late 19th century to present digital palettes, Colour aims to trace the transformative power of colour as a storytelling language.
Highlights include the dreamlike beginnings of A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920); the Technicolor splendour of The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Powell & Pressburger’s Black Narcissus (1947); the modernist palettes of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and Don’t Look Now (1973); the iconic visual worlds shaped by Vittorio Storaro ASC AIC in Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Last Emperor (1987); and the contemporary emotional storytelling of In the Mood for Love (2000) by Christopher Doyle and Ping Bin Lee, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) by Sir Roger Deakins ASC BSC, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) by Claire Mathon AFC.
Towards the end of the exhibition, a series of featurettes offers a deeper dive into the history and craft of colour in film, from the bias toward lighter skin tones in early colour processes to the groundbreaking digital intermediate techniques used by the Coen brothers on O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
Commenting on the exhibition, Danny Haikin, chief commercial officer at Cooke Optics, said: “We hope our new exhibition inspires cinematographers, directors and artists of all kinds to reflect on the role of colour in their own work.
“In a world of ever-evolving technology, it’s easy for the simplest techniques to be overshadowed. Our exhibition serves as a reminder of colour’s potency and emotional depth, celebrating the innovators whose breakthroughs brought colour technologies to where they are today.”
Colour opens the Cooke Gallery as a space that welcomes multidisciplinary creatives and communities – from cinematographers and directors to production and costume designers, colourists and visual artists.
The public opening takes place on 14 November.
