True Blues and Real Reds: how human vision colours the world

Synopsis

People consume a vast quantity of digital images daily, more so than ever in the online life of a locked-down world. How true are the colours in images to the natural world?

The answer takes us to the heart of what it means to see. Although chemistry – that rock-solid science of reality - is at the core of colour, the science of the mind ultimately holds the key. Colour, like no other visual phenomenon, encapsulates the individual variability of minds, and reveals how the environment, culture, and development shape what we see.

Contemporary innovations in lighting technology and image processing further challenge what colour means in the natural and digital world.

Speaker

Prof Anya Hurlbert

MD PhD, Newcastle University

Anya Hurlbert is Professor of Visual Neuroscience and Dean of Advancement at Newcastle University. She trained in physics, neuroscience, and medicine, in the US and UK, and co-founded and directed Newcastle’s Institute of Neuroscience for 10 years to 2014. Hurlbert’s research focuses on human colour vision, with applications in digital imaging and novel lighting technologies. She writes and lectures on colour perception and art, is former Chairman of the Colour Group (GB) and Scientist Trustee of the National Gallery, and serves on international scientific advisory and editorial boards.

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