Dutch designer Hella Jongerius rails against industrially produced paints and dyes in the Breathing Colour exhibition at London's Design Museum, which draws on her last 15 years of research.
The exhibition, which opened this week, explores how colours change throughout the day in response to different lighting conditions. It shows Jongerius experimenting with colour through the creation of woven textile "movies", faceted "colour catcher" objects and vases lacquered with metal oxides.

"It's unbelievable how colours can breathe if you use them right," Jongerius told Dezeen. "The colours that are used in this exhibition are unstable, but they have very rich pigments."
The textiles in the exhibition are woven from a wide mix of yarns ? not all of which would pass industry requirements for qualities such as lightfastness ? while the objects and even the walls are painted using hues Jongerius achieved through mixing contrasting colours.
"In the five greys in the colour catchers, I don't use any black," said Jongerius. "It is a mix of whites and reds and greens to make greys. It's so wonderful, and it's a totally different kind of grey that we can buy as industrial designers as plastic granulates or in powder coats. It's a much nicer way of getting a dark colour ? it's multilayered."
The designer, who serves as art director of colour and surfaces for Vitra, intends the exhibition to challenge the industry's current appr...