French Polynesia or the Society Islands (Îles de la Société) is about colors. Colors that are classically associated with Paul Gaughin. But it is more than paintings, it is a feast for the eye. Blues, turqoise, the sparkle of mother of pearl, reds, basaltic black and greens. And more green. Fueled by the warm temperate air, the ample rainfall and abundant sunshine, green grows in the rich volcanic soils from the tops of steep cliffs to the edge of the ocean. The human eye can see more shades of green than any other color and is richly rewarded in the multitude of shades that cover the islands. We can luxuriate in discerning green as green lies in the center of the color spectrum. So too does French Polynesia lie at the center of the polynesian culture. As far north as Hawaii, east to Easter Island and West to New Zealand, the polynesians traveled and filled the broad expanse of the tropical climates of the Pacific ocean. The story of the journey of the polynesian culture begins with Raiatea, filling the islands of Tahiti, Morea, Tahaa, Huahie, Bora Bora and the surrounding atolls until voyaging to the corners of the the Polynesian triangle.

Color is everywhere. The colors of French Polynesia come together across the canvas of nature, ever changing in the atmosphere, growing on the terra firma with a vast spectrum of green and finallly descending into the oceans with its own hues of brilliant jeweled corals and life beneath the waves.

It is as if Paul Gaughin was pulling from this canvas of color to express what he saw. Likewise, the color caught by the camera is simply expressing what lays painted across this same canvas of atmosphere, terra and ocean in the South Pacific.