Sascha Pohle, WHO IS AFRAID OF RED, YELLOW, AND BLUE, 2011–2021

Composed of scenes from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975), Sascha Pohle’s Who Is Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue follows the original film’s narrative while tracing the simultaneous appearance of the three primary colours. The title refers to Barnett Newman’s series of paintings of the same name (1966–1970), which challenged the didactic use of colour and asserted its expressive autonomy. Both works became sites of destruction: Newman’s paintings were vandalised in museums, while in Jaws, the shark is ultimately blown up. Yet the shark remains a threat concealed beneath the sea’s surface, while Newman’s colour fields confront viewers with the experience of colour itself. How do images shape our fears? Where do perceived threats emerge, and how do we negotiate the tensions between nature, culture, and the worlds we inhabit?