You're invited! COLOUR — A New Exhibition by Cooke Optics

When: Thursday, November 13 18:00 – 21:30

Where: Cooke Optics, 39 Newman Street, London, W1T 1QB

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Cooke Optics announces COLOUR, a curated exhibition exploring the intricate role that colour can play in life and on screen. Here, you will find films and explainers presented chronologically,  where colour becomes a character in its own right, expanding beyond the technical to reveal how it’s a powerful storytelling tool, an emotional guide, and a vehicle for meaning. Every hue, every shade, and every contrast within a film can be carefully chosen to craft a particular mood, evoke specific emotions, or symbolise deeper themes. The exhibition also aims to inspire people to consider colour in their own work, highlighting the attainability of its power regardless of equipment or budget.

From the late 19th century to present digital palettes, COLOUR traces the transformative power of colour as a storytelling language. Highlights include the dreamlike beginnings of A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920); the Technicolor splendour of The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Powell & Pressburger’s Black Narcissus (1947); the modernist palettes of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and Don’t Look Now (1973); the iconic visual worlds shaped by Vittorio Storaro in Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Last Emperor (1987); and the contemporary emotional storytelling of In the Mood for Love (2000) by Christopher Doyle and Ping Bin Lee, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) by Sir Roger Deakins, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) by Claire Mathon.

Towards the end of the exhibition, a series of featurettes offers a deeper dive into the history and craft of colour in film, from the bias toward lighter skin tones in early colour processes to the groundbreaking Digital Intermediate (DI) techniques used by the Coen Brothers on O Brother, Where Art Thou?. 

Commenting on the exhibition, Danny Haikin, Chief Commercial Officer at Cooke Optics, said: “We hope our new exhibition inspires cinematographers, directors, and artists of all kinds to reflect on the role of colour in their own work. In a world of ever-evolving technology, it’s easy for the simplest techniques to be overshadowed. Our exhibition serves as a reminder of colour's potency and emotional depth, celebrating the innovators whose breakthroughs brought colour technologies to where they are today."

For decades Cooke lenses have supported cinematographers in collaborative visual storytelling. The use of colour in film encompasses many practitioners. 

COLOUR continues this tradition by opening the Cooke Gallery as a space that welcomes multidisciplinary creatives and communities — from cinematographers and directors to production and costume designers, colourists, and visual artists. The exhibition celebrates how their shared vision shapes the emotional language of colour and the stories we bring to life on screen.