Korean artist Jeongmee Yoon’s ‘Pink and Blue Project‘ was inspired by her daughter, who would only wear pink and accept pink toys. Yoon discovered that this is a common theme around the world. When she began to photograph girl’s in their pink universes, she realized that boys fell victim to the same quirk, however they see the world in a different hue: blue. Thus the ‘Pink and Blue Project’ was born, whereby children are photographed while buried in their color coded caverns of crap.
On one level the series demonstrates the classic gender or color stereotype, which is strictly followed by a majority of children, lasting for some into adulthood. With respect to the male bias, boys were slathered in blue from birth as means of protection. Blue resembles the heavenly sky, and was thought to render satanic forces powerless. Pink on the other hand may have been chosen or forced onto women due to evolutionary undertones of fertility and health. Looking at the images in a monochrome light, they accurately depict a society that is fraught with overconsumption, edging closer towards a Malthusian catastophe. Furthermore, it’s equally disturbing to consider the amount of lead paint that might be lurking on and leaching from those toys.
