South China Morning Port
24th April 2020
How colour-blind people see the world – as if through an Instagram filter – what causes colour blindness, and how an artist uses his to great effect
Red-green colour blindness – the most common form – affects one in 12 men and one in 200 women
A Hong Kong artist talks about how it’s ‘a gift and a curse’ and how it affects his art
By Kylie Knott
Artist Ernest Chang says the biggest misconception people have about those who are colour-blind is that they can’t see colour at all.
“The best way to describe it is like seeing the world through an Instagram filter,” says Chang. “The colours are slightly shifted but the general contrasts and dynamics of the light are the same,” he says, adding he was about seven when he discovered he was colour blind.
People who suffer from colour blindness – also called colour vision deficiency – find it difficult to identify and distinguish between certain colours. Chang can see most colours except red and green – a condition known as “red-green” colour vision deficiency and the most common form, affecting around one in 12 men and one in 200 women. The second most common form is blue-yellow.