Exhibition Tour: Pretty in Pink: The emotive power of colour

Baker-Miller Pink, the colour used in Kapwani Kiwanga’s pink-blue, is a tone of pink claimed to reduce hostile, violent, or aggressive behaviour. Early tests performed by colour researcher Alexander Schauss in the late 1970s observed that this particular shade of pink had a profoundly calming effect, noting that merely staring at an 18 × 24 inch card printed with this colour, especially after exercising, would result in “a marked effect on lowering the heart rate, pulse, and respiration.” In 1979, the first institutional use of this pink was tested on prisoners at the Naval Correctional Institute in Seattle, Washington. The findings were that “no incidents of erratic or hostile behaviour” were experienced, and “only fifteen minutes of exposure was enough to ensure that the potential for violent or aggressive behaviour had been reduced.” Schauss named the pink after the Naval Correctional Institute directors, Baker and Miller.

What effect does colour have on you? Do you believe orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, that blue suppresses appetite, or that babies cry more in yellow rooms? Let the colours speak for themselves in this tour of A wall is just a wall (and nothing more at all).