Yaw Tony’s World

Black Palette is the consummate book-lovers art book

A yellow-scarfed peacock pulls at a string while a pink face looks on from the doorway above, leading to a utopian setting with an “eye” looking out with an astronaut on the moon (he’s also the same size as the moon). This is but one scene from the hundreds of glossy full-page artworks in this gorgeous book by Yaw Tony. It should be noted that most of the animals wear scarves in Yaw Tony’s world. Civilized and fashionable, surreal and poignant, the Toronto artist’s work, like the man himself, is truly one of a kind. Tony is a trained architect, artist and textile designer with a penchant for philosophy.

Themes emerge as you move through the multi-coloured pages of his new art book, Black Palette. Tony revisits five questions, he says, we are all asking, or should be: Who am I? Where am I from? Why I am here? What can I do? Where am I going? The answers take the form of beautiful images, historical and allegorical references, poetry and discourse. While drinking in the words interspersed between Tony’s luminous artworks, the reader is surprised, delighted and informed. It leaves a feeling with you long after you close the book. You come back to it again and again and see something new and thought-provoking each time. There are patterns and palettes that please the eye and words on self purpose, life’s meaning, and the true measure of success in a framework that’s poetic not preachy. The hefty book, which was printed with multiple cover variations, comes with a reference guide at the back. It’s rare to see an art book of this size and one where every page is a standalone beauty.

Black Palette – Colour Odyssey – (Collection of ourselves). Hardcover, 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm, 352 pages. YAWTONY.COM