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August 2000 saw the relocation of Umbrella Studio from its position on Townsville's Victoria Bridge to a new venue in Northtown shopping centre, Flinders Mall. Under the direction of Robert Barton, a team of volunteers and tradesmen transformed a vacant bridal shop into a sophisticated gallery. The first section of the new venue to be fully operational was the access space in which Terize Formanowski exhibited the aptly titled Light + Colour = Energy. Both visually appealing and conceptually challenging, Formanowski's minimal installation of digital imagery and painting effectively announced the arrival of the contemporary art space in the CBD.
Light + Colour = Energy is both the vehicle and the product of Formanowski's exploration of the healing power of colour. Formanowski suggests that we are continually receiving visual input regarding colour, but many of us are unaware of the full potential of the colour spectrum and its multitude of nuances. Artists, designers and colour therapists, however, are particularly sensitive to the effects of colour in various combinations.
An essential component of Formanowski's research is an investigation of the therapeutic uses of art. One of the tenets of colour healing is that certain colours are efficacious in healing particular illnesses or traumas. Colours in our surroundings can have a direct influence on psychological states, and by extension, physical wellbeing. A significant amount of research has been undertaken to date into the physical, psychological and emotional effects of human exposure to different colours. Believing, however, that it is unrealistic to assume that a particular colour will evoke identical or even similar responses from different people, Formanowski extends the existing research by considering social, cultural and personal factors in an investigation