Deborah Bay: [chroma(to)-graphy]

As part of an ongoing exploration of color, [chroma (to) - graphy] began with a series of chemical processes involving inks and paper. Drawing from the Dadaists and Surrealists in its use of material created without artistic control, the work is based on small chromatograms that produced an unexpected grammar of color. This source material formed the starting point for the study, which combines groups of colors to highlight various aspects of color relationships.

Chromatography (to write with color) is a process for separating the substances of a mixture. I used paper chromatography to deconstruct various inks and dyes. Through capillary action, the colors migrated into separate components when the paper was placed in a solvent - resulting in a visual analysis of their composition. The chromatograms were then scanned and combined in grids and panels or, in some cases, digitally modified for installation pieces. In one image the relationships of colors on the visible light spectrum are displayed through the varied hues appearing on the chromatogram. Blacks and grays in other pieces reveal surprising blends of pinks, blues and yellows.

In earlier works, I used film gels on lights to color tabletop constructions of lenses and prisms, with color giving dimension to the small optical objects. In [chroma (to) - graphy], the focus has shifted from the non-materiality of colored light and optics to physical color and material science. In the age of digitization, color from light-emitting sources is often an electronic mix of pixels, but this series explores the physicality of color itself.

— Deborah Bay