Project research book.
Realised:
April 2024
Address :
14, Seongsui-ro 10-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Credits:
Photographs by Yongjoon Choi
Catastrophe Colours is a critical approach on how colours are chosen to be applied in architecture and design in general. Based mainly on poetic names given by the industry, colours are seen as a positive, almost useless addition. By associating them to human disaster, the selection of colour becomes a conscious act.
“Images of catastrophes disseminated by the media are etched into our visual memory with particular emphasis. Yet our brains don’t necessarily store concrete images but rather abstractions of the documented events – a diffuse colour spectrum. Architecture office Gonzalez Haase AAS took up this phenomenon and translated it into design guidelines: the architects developed the book Catastrophe Colours, a colour theory of the present, in which media images of catastrophes are confronted with their inherent chromatic essence. Thus Catastrophe Colours functions as a colour fan, no longer inspired by art as Le Corbusier’s Clavier des Couleurs but based on research, linkage, and storytelling – the basic components of our information society.”
Georg Diez
The installation at 032c Gallery Seoul features two digital screens installed like an open book in between the wall and the floor. The one, mounted on the wall, displays only the colour and title. Its vertical orientation against the vibrant red 032c wall makes it visible from outside the gallery, playing the concept of “vitrine”. The second screen, lying on the floor, is visible only upon entering the space. This screen showcases the catastrophes via press images related to the colour displayed on the above screen, offering a deeper exploration of the narrative.