Monochrome Science Exhibition: The Physics of Colour

Festival of Tomorrow, Swindon

In February 2025, The MoSAIC transformed an unused shopping unit in Swindon Designer Outlet into an immersive pop-up exhibition exploring the science of art. Based on our popular school workshop ‘Monochrome: The Physics of Colour’, the space was turned into an interactive experience for the Festival of Tomorrow, experienced by over 5000 visitors across 6 days.

Man teaching kids in a science exhibition

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Vacant to Vibrant

Creativity and discovery breathing new life into unused spaces.

What is ‘Monochrome’?

A teacher and a kid engaging in a science exhibition

Light and colour are a key part of both physics and visual art, but it is rarely taught in an interdisciplinary way. That’s where ‘Monochrome: The Physics of Colour’ comes in. A true STEAM learning experience where the boundary between art and science is blurred.

A room devoid of all but one colour, inspired by the work of Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, we show people what a single wavelength of light reveals about all colours.

The monochromatic lights we use for this exhibition are repurposed sodium vapour street lamps kindly donated to The MoSAIC by South Gloucestershire Council.

AMAZING!!! This exhibition was so mind-blowing!

I am a graphic designer, so I understood part of this already, but the information I saw in this exhibit filled in the gaps + helped everything make so much more sense! … I'd love to see this exhibit available to many more people.”

Adult visitor

Why are the primary colours taught differently in physics and art?

Girl looking in a microscope in science exhibition

Colour can be made in different ways. Directly by producing light or using substances and surfaces that reflect light differently.

We use microscopes to help young people investigate how the illusion of full colour is made on a microscopic scale using two different sets of primary colours.

The MoSAIC can transform your disused space into immersive art and science exhibitions in just half a day, creating an unforgettable experience for festival visitors of all ages.

Feedback

Keywords taken from the feedback from participants

A group of visitors, including two women and a child, engaging with an interactive exhibit at an art and science exhibition

“Monochrome - The Physics of Colour was a real highlight of our 2025 About Town Programme.

Installed in a vacant unit within Swindon Designer Outlet Centre, the pop-up exhibition confounded, delighted and enlightened thousands of visitors of all ages. The MoSAIC were a pleasure to work with, and the well-thought out, high-quality activities captivated visitors and had them questioning their perceptions - with lots of wonderful feedback received. Highly recommended!

Louise Halliday
Festival and Outreach Manager, Festival of Tomorrow

What artwork did you look at?

The Tate estimates that people look at paintings in a gallery for an average of 8 seconds.

By stripping paintings of their colours, encouraging people to predict the colours and then allowing them to explore the answers with a torch, we have increased this gaze from seconds to minutes.

As well as artwork by ‘Monochrome’ curator Gaz Lawrence, our centrepiece for this exhibition was a painting from The MoSAIC collection by graffiti artist HazardOne. Visitors were stunned by the transformation of this vibrant painting when illuminated with white light.

A kid looking at a painting at an art and science exhibition

What if I don’t have full colour vision?

Visitors examining an interactive "Spot the Tiger" exhibit at an art and science exhibition

As well as having their perceptions questioned the most commonly mentioned activity in the participant feedback was the ‘Spot the Tiger’ challenge.

To humans with full colour vision it seems strange that tigers are camouflaged despite being orange in largely green environments. However to prey animals that cannot detect red light, the tigers seamlessly blend in.

Monochrome gives visitors the experience of being red-green colour deficient when looking at the tiger images. We had many visitors who commented that it was great for their families to experience what they experience every day.

Very interesting, especially as I am colourblind. Too many people and businesses overlook us!
— Participant

Festival of Tomorrow - Highlights Report 2025

Beyond Swindon…

A person shining a UV light on an interactive artwork at an art and science exhibition

Monochrome is available to book for your school, event or festival. All we need is a space that can be blacked out. As well as a shopping unit, we have installed ‘Monochrome’ in drama classrooms, school theatres, dance studios and even a cinema.

Skills that this exhibition/workshop fosters:

  • Curiosity

  • Creativity

  • Problem solving

  • Teamwork

  • Observation

  • Prediction

  • Experimentation

  • Art appreciation

The children loved it and couldn’t stop talking about it today.
— Alice McGilligan, Head of Art, Knightsbridge School

“What a brilliant exhibition! The art was beautiful and explanations behind the science were easy to understand yet fascinating. Loved this”

Adult visitor

Book this workshop for your festival, school or event from just £350

info@themosaic.uk

A huge thank you to the partners who have helped to make Monochrome happen:

Featured in…

Find out more about how ‘Monochrome’ shows that art and science intersect in the Festival of Tomorrow podcast.