Eva Rothenberg: Why the 'brightest color on Earth' may also be the future of eco-conscious art

By Dilip -

Art and science can seem two opposites on a spectrum. One is creative and interpretive, the other exact and empirical. But an emerging technology known as Pure Structural Colour -- dubbed the "boldest, brightest color on Earth" in a new exhibition -- shows how interplay between the two may be revolutionary for both.

Panels of Pure Structural Colour that imitate the shades of butterfly wings on display at London's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Credit: Roger Wooldridge/Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Pure Structural Colour is produced from nanostructures -- tiny particles that reflect and scatter light to replicate the brightest hues found in nature. It was developed by Lifescaped, a lab and studio founded by the scientist and artist Andrew Parker. This month, artworks incorporating the technology have gone on public display for the first time at "Naturally Brilliant Colour," an exhibition at the UK's Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London.

The gallery itself is dark, with black walls accentuating expressionist paintings by Parker himself. Some were inspired by sunlight and phenomena like the Big Bang, while others imitate the colors and textures of flower petals and butterfly wings….



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