I’ve been thinking about artists who work with one colour –– Kazimir Malevich‘s white on white paintings, Wolfgang Laib‘s installations of yellow dust and Yves Klein‘s cobalt blue sculptures. And I’ve been thinking about how there is freedom in focus, and how liberating it can be to set limits. For many artists, a single colour provides a gateway to “spiritual purity.” For others, it allows for greater focus on form, texture and process. Anish Kapoor, Robert Rauschenberg and Ellsworth Kelly have all experimented with monochrome. In a recent podcast interview, local artist, Nicole Kagan spoke about how she found freedom in working with nothing but school grade black ink and dollar store white paper. The limitations were liberating, she says. For a week she made nothing but intuitive black marks on paper. It was a reset. Setting boundaries and releasing oneself from the double edged knife of choice can usher in greater clarity and a more deliberate use of one’s creative energy. I think some people might say as much about this last year. That the limitations have been liberating. Enlightening, even. I leave you with a painting by Alteronce Gumby. Gumby’s canvases are slathered with a black paint that he makes himself, and that’s comprised of many colours mixed together. Monochrome. But look again, and you’ll see every colour of the rainbow.