5 Conversations, 18 Colours

There are certain uncertainties in the selection of colours and the arbitrariness of conventional colour selection in the digital colour field of graphics programmes. The infinite possibilities lead to an ambiguity in colour selection. This grievance lead Marcel Strauß to experience curiosity about how others deal with colour, how they use it, and how they work with it.

The publication, 5 Conversations, 18 Colours, documents conversations with people who know their colours: David Kremer, who produces pigments, makes long-lost pigments and their recipes accessible again, Markus Grob, who deals with the effect of colour in architecture through precise observations, the photographer Shirana Shahbazi, who uses colour reproduction processes as part of her work, the art and graphics collective Maximage, who with the help of unconventional printing experiments and their colour library, operate at the limits of what is possible, and the lithographer Thomi Wolfensberger, who is most well-known for his colour and printing expertise in the arts.

At the same time, the publication attempts to get to the bottom of colour, by looking closely: from the quarry to the scanning electron microscope and lithography, to the latest digital printing. Where does colour come from? How can a colour hue be so precisely replicated? Can they be reproduced just like that? How many colours do we need? Why do some colours appear more dull or lifeless than their bright neighbours?
The publication looks at these questions with the help of various media and tools: in screen printing, with Riso and laser-printing, the colour is applied onto paper, colouring the conversations. Talking about colour and seeing is put aside.