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Rasleen Dhaliwal
Figures in Color
This project, Figures in Color, investigates how color functions as a trigger for nostalgia and a mechanism for shaping personal identity within a culture defined by constant documentation. In an era where memories are frequently captured, stored, and revisited through digital media, nostalgia is no longer solely an internal process but one that is filtered through external representations. This work asks how individuals reconstruct their sense of self through emotionally charged recollections, and how these reconstructions differ when mediated by color rather than explicit imagery.
Through an interactive installation, participants select colors they associate with nostalgic experiences. These inputs generate an abstract, evolving visual form that reflects the emotional qualities of memory rather than a literal reconstruction of past events. By prioritizing ambiguity, fragmentation, and atmospheric shifts, the project emphasizes the incomplete and interpretive nature of nostalgia. Drawing on research in color psychology and emotional response, the system maps user-selected hues to affective states, allowing for both personal and collective patterns to emerge.
Ultimately, this project frames nostalgia not as a fixed recollection of the past, but as an active, ongoing process through which individuals interpret, reconstruct, and understand their identities.
