Pantone 107 C and Pantone Yellow C. Version pigment print on Hahnemuhle paper.
Installation view of Pantone 107 C and Pantone Yellow C.
“Yellow” delves into the visual language of community flags, focusing specifically on their color compositions and the meanings they evoke. By stripping away the symbols and figurative elements, Its aim is to highlight how color itself serves as a powerful signifier of identity, unity, and collective narratives within diverse communities.
By omitting the core symbols of the flags and placing both colours next to each other in juxtaposition; The focus on selectiveness and exclusivity becomes less clear. Both colours belong to the spectrum of yellow, yet they remain distinct due to their different shades. Colour is seen as the basic element of visual perception, capable of connecting with our emotions and experiences. By examining specific colour combinations, the work aims to capture the spirit of a community without division.
This piece explores the subtle interplay between presence and absence, emphasizing how meaning is often shaped by what is omitted as much as what is included. The removal of the core symbol, traditionally used to underline the identity and unity of a nation, serves as a deliberate act of deconstruction. It invites viewers to reflect on how such symbols can simultaneously serve to unify and divide—promoting inclusivity through their exclusivity. By stripping away this central emblem, the artwork shifts focus from a singular point of national identity to the surrounding space, highlighting the background color’s tone, mood, and emotional resonance.
From this perspective, the work also engages with Jacques Derrida’s ideas of the signifier and signified, illustrating how meaning is not fixed but fluid and dependent on context. The symbol (signifier) once carried a specific meaning (the signified) related to unity and belonging (to divide and exclude); its absence disrupts this established connection, revealing how meaning is constructed and deconstructed through signs. This act of removal exposes the instability and multiplicity inherent in symbols of identity, emphasizing the ongoing negotiation between inclusion and exclusion, unity and division. Ultimately, this work challenges perceptions of meaning, suggesting that sometimes, what is missing can be as impactful as what is present, prompting us to reconsider the boundaries between form and void, unity, belonging, divide, and exclude.
Pantone 107 C and Pantone Yellow C. Pigment print on Hahnemuhle paper.