Mouthpiece (Cobalt and Cadmium)
1996

 

© Renée Van

The Colour Code project represents a number of works completed over the past decade - the most recent Taste | 100 Paintings of 20th Century Décor. All of these works use colour in direct reference to objects or materials and document the changes in taste or fashion.

 

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Mouthpiece (Cobalt and Cadmium)

< Mouthpiece (Cobalt and Cadmium) results from the research I had conducted into cancer. This work led me to consider how artists can be affected by this disease.  I found listed among thousands of carcinogenic substances, cobalt and cadmium. These chemicals are typically found on painter’s palettes as cadmium red and cobalt blue.  Mouthpiece presents these colours in exaggerated crosses that frame two images - microscopic views of tongue and lip tissue, locating the site of ingestion.