Color-Hunting

Coral Pink, Olive Green, Sky Blue: you're probably familiar with the descriptions used on the average colour chart, but when was the last time you checked if they actually matched their real-life equivalents? Dai Fujiwara, former creative director of Issey Miyake, explores the full range of the visual spectrum in this show at 21_21 Design Sight. ‘Colour hunting’ refers to the age-old practice of mixing watercolours on the spot to match a real-world hue, and Fujiwara has tried it with everything from wild lions to Okinawan sea vistas. The exhibition showcases the fruits of his labours, as well as related research, such as a fascinating attempt to recreate so-called ‘phantom colours’ described in documents from over a millennium ago.