see beyond colors with emmanuelle moureaux's shikiri elements

see beyond colors with emmanuelle moureaux’s shikiri elements
image courtesy of emmanuelle moureaux

on the occasion of the 14th international architecture exhibition in venice, emmanuelle moureaux presents ‘see beyond colors’, an installation that sees the french creative continuing the exploration of her design concept ‘shikiri’ (a self-derived term), which means dividing (developing) areas with colors. displayed within the venice biennale’s official collateral event ‘time space existence’, moureaux’s rainbow-hued elements fill a room within the city on water’s historic palazzo bembo.

two-dimensional colored elements make up a larger volume of space
image courtesy of emmanuelle moureaux

‘see beyond colors’ is a series of cubic volumes at different scales, suspended at various heights, which in their entirety are composed of 1390 surfaces, and 12,100 lines, in 36 color palettes. these elements stand to represent structures, while also acting as the pieces used to compose space through those different visual tonal values. the exhibition allows visitors to experience the built environment through the three-dimensional layering of color, reminiscent of moureaux’s adopted home city of tokyo which was where the ‘shikiri’ approach was born; as a result of her being enamored with the overwhelming number of store signs, electrical cables and fragments of blue sky seen . the overflowing effects of color show how pigment in architecture can go beyond defining a zone, and tap into a deeper human emotion.

detail
image courtesy of emmanuelle moureaux

‘I use colors as three-dimensional elements, like layers, in order to create spaces, not as a finishing touch applied to surfaces.’ – emmanuelle moureaux

image courtesy of emmanuelle moureaux