Does grief have a color? Is it possible to describe grief reactions through colors? What can colors do compared to the written and spoken word?

I explored these questions in relation to my grief following the death of my parents. They died 10 years ago, three weeks apart. My grief has been prolonged and complicated, and difficult for me to cope with both cognitively and emotionally.

I quickly realized that it is not possible to express grief with just one color. Which is not all that strange given the complexity of grief. It surprised me that the same feeling, e.g., anxiety, presented as different colors in connection with the death of my mother and father respectively.

Spoken and written words have helped me understand my grief from an intellectual point of view. Through painting and searching for the color of grief, I experienced grief in a deep, sensual and nonverbal way with different emotional reactions. This lead to a greater understanding of my emotional attachment to my parents.

Birgitte Carlsen, Virum, Danmark, maj 2022
Materiale: 50 x 40 cm, oile på kanvas