Skin color is one of the main human features that is first perceived in everyday life. Skin color is unique for each person, and it is highly variable among different ethnic groups. The perception of human skin color can be a crucial cue in the construction of identity, both individual and collective Hammack proposes the concept of identity as cognitive, social, and cultural processes. According to this perspective, a group of people can be categorized simply by one color. However, previous work has shown than more than 4000 colors have been related to human skin color (ref). In such scenario, Latin America is recognized as a mixed of many colors than had been categorized as mestizo. However, it has not been identified the physical characteristic that such colors have. Furthermore, how such colors influenced the psychological identity proposed by Hammack. This study is part of a larger creative project that explores the relationship between the measured skin color and the individual perception of skin color with the aim to establish a psychological identity as proposed by Hammack (2008).

During the first part of the research, a study was carried out using 50 volunteered participants tested for normal color vision. The participants had their skin color measured in different visible parts of their body and then they answered a questionnaire. Initial results of this study showed a tendency among the participants not to recognize the color of their own skin. In addition, when evaluating the colors, the participants did not show negative connotations in their visual assessment. Finally, part of the material collected for this research will be used in the production of a visual arts exhibition that questions the reduction of the identity of skin color promoting education on diversity and inclusion.

Visual artist and art teacher from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. MA in Fine Art, Middlesex University London, where she studied with Sonia Boyce and Keith Piper (British Black Arts movement). She obtained an Erasmus Scholarship to carry out research on Antoni Gaudí at the University of Barcelona.

Her visual work —linked to chromatic research— has been exhibited both in Chile and abroad. www.alejandrarojascontreras.cl

She is currently studying psychology at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to complement her career in art and education, and intertwine these disciplines in the future.

The Inter-Society Color Council advances the knowledge of color as it relates to art, science, industry and design.
Each of these fields enriches the others, furthering the general objective of color education.