Aturquesada: A Spanish word, which means to be of or become the colour turquoise.

Tealquoise:  A word fabricated by the artist to describe an ambiguous shade of green that exists in between teal and turquoise.  The correct name for this colour as sold in paint stores is “nice”.

This installation is composed of 60 + tealquoise objects, a video documentation of the artist selling these objects on the streets, as well as an experimental Super8 film shot in a snowy landscape.

Chun has coined the colour tealquoise as the “ultimate neutralizer” as it converts everyday objects into art objects taking away their utilitarian value.  This colour is visually ambiguous with various meaning depending on who is viewing it, as it is associated with a range of tones that are slightly greener or bluer. One factor is for certain: tealquoise catches the eye and demands attention.  Once the objects are painted in this colour, they are stripped from their original purpose and exist in a transient space between common objects and art.

The collection of objects were sold on the streets as performances or street interventions that compares the lives of artists to that of street vendors.  Artistic careers are in the realm of informal economic practices since it is a field that is unconventional and financially difficult.  This interplay between the value of everyday objects, versus the value of art objects, allows the audience to consider the systematic ways in which society gives importance and creates meaning within a consumerist capitalist economy.

Special thanks to the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council for their support in this project.