In this series of paintings, the artist explains the history and importance of the black color in art and more importantly in his paintings. Black was one of the first colors used in art. Black color by its nature is the mix of all other colors. It is associated with night and darkness. This interpretation derives from the ancient and primordial times when the night was associated with the unknown and mystery.

 

White color is the color of daylight. It is the color of the absolute, and therefore is the color of spiritual sacrifice and divinity. For instance, a White Dove symbolizes Peace and the Holy Spirit. White is the positive side of the antithesis “black and white”. Black color was associated with darkness, which reflected the dualistic unity of white and black, light and darkness, day, and night. In this connection we can recall the Russian poet Nikolai Zabolotsky: “What is beauty...is it a vessel, holding emptiness inside, or a fire burning brightly in that vessel?”

 

The Golden Pavilion was built amidst the darkness and now it is impossible to tell what the beauty is. Is it the temple itself, or is it the darkness of the night surrounding it, or maybe both? “Let the darkness that is in my heart become equal to the darkness of the night that surrounds those innumerable lights.”  - Yukio Mishima. 

 

Symbolism of black and white may be associated with the symbolism of the binary coding of information. This idea expressed itself in the black and white symbol of Yin and Yang. In modern context this is the symbolism of the binary code with the numbers 1 and 0.