If a tree falls in a forest, and nobody is around to see it, is it still really Green?

Colour makes the world an interesting place to live in. Without it, the world would lose all its visual flavour. Flowers would lose their meaning, beauty would just be measured in black and white, and Red Alerts during monsoons would just be called Alerts.

They say beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Interestingly, one may ask the question – does colour exist out in nature or just in the way we see it?

Colours bring alive other fragments of human imagination, interaction and being. Across cultures, green is the colour of envy, black the symbol of evil, while white signifies purity. When we’re angry we see red, and when sad, feel blue. While these are universal references in language, colours also have different meanings in different cultures.

How many colours, shades, tones, spectrums do you think there are in the world? Are they even finite or infinite? Will we ever know? Pantone declares a colour every year for brands and businesses to target their end-users over products and concepts. But what it also does is unite 7.2 billion people across the globe, over art.

Histories of larger spectrums of colour date back to the beginning of time. The big bang could have just been a giant outburst of colour in the sky, creating a billion spectrums of light thrown in all directions

Let’s look at the symbolism and meaning behind some common colours we interact with everyday:

Red  The colour of anger, rage, disgust, but also hunger, craving, fertility, and creation. One of the first colours discovered in prehistoric cave art dating back to 40,000 years ago.

Green signifies envy but also nature, the first, serenity, tranquillity and natural calm. A sign of renewal and refreshment. Ancient Egyptians used the colour green in hieroglyphic wall art, while in India, green connotes auspiciousness, harvest, fullness and abundance.

Yellow It is no surprise that yellow connotes feelings of joy, warmth and happiness. Psychologically, yellow is known to boost our memory, stimulate nerves and brain cells, and encourage conversation in its vicinity.

Purple Historically, the colour purple and its siblings such as mauve and lilac, have been connected to magic, mystery and even royalty. Closer to the age of Generation Z, the colour also sees itself representing luxury and ambition. Something so rich that only the brave-hearted dare adorn these shades.

 While Pablo Picasso once said “Colour, like features, follows the changes of emotions”, it was Sir Isaac Newton who first discovered the colour wheel. This might lead us to ask you this: if lights creates colour, then might science be creating art?