Figuring Light

A piece by Rebecca Partridge, seen in the Djanogly Art Exhibition, Lakeside.
Although I don't know the name of this particular piece, it is one of the few that I particularly liked at the exhibition. The use of light is peculiar in the sense that the smaller shapes have dark, contrasting colours (such as red and green, for example) and appear further away due to it looking shadowed, when compared to the forefront shapes. These new shapes are light, pastel colours and appear almost translucent, but also use contrasting colours. This gives the unusual effect of the shapes passing through the viewer and therefore creating an ambulatory effect, unusual for a 2D painting.

In fact, these shapes form 3D cubes by lighting and use of different types of colour alone. The colours are stark, which provides the impression that there is harsh lighting coming from one direction (a warmer colour, closer to the red spectrum) and shadow, in another (a cooler colour, closer to the blue spectrum). The use of contrasting colours, therefore, gives the impression of harsh lighting because each colour is so close to its respective end of the spectrum. However, just to confuse things, some shapes also use harmonious colour schemes to create a similar effect, only lacking in the definite dynamic of stark light.

Of course, all effects used are amplified by the fact that the background is pure white, thus making all colour stand out.

Originals



I chose green originally to create a different world-y feeling for an area that's so commonly seen. The effect it gave was a sort of high-contrast, almost LED-lit effect that seems to fit a science fiction movie. The green highlights the lighter colours and darkens the shadows, creating a lit "grunge" effect on the much darker areas such as the door.

The purple picture is entirely the opposite as it is closer to the blue spectrum and purple is considered to lend a dream-like quality. The lighting around the edges is tinged darker, so there's a greater contrast. This allows a sort of tunnel vision effect. The high intensity of the light hitting the wall is a sharp white, and this causes a steep gradiation in colour towards the outer edges from the centre. The combination of the angle of the shot (looking upwards) and the tunnel vision and vivid tinting creates the feeling of helplessless as you're pulled along in a dream like sequence.