The Opticks series derives its title from Isaac Newton’s 1704 treatise. Using a vintage Polaroid camera, Sugimoto captures the refraction of light as it passes through a glass prism. Rising at dawn to observe the atmospheric conditions, he records the ephemeral chromatic phenomena within a custom-designed optical chamber. In this series, Sugimoto challenges Newton’s seven-color spectrum, seeking instead the infinite gradations and transitional hues between them. By synthesizing Newtonian objectivity, Goethe’s emotive color theory, and the Buddhist concept of “Form is Emptiness” (Shiki-soku-ze-ku), he interprets the world of color as fundamentally void. As Sugimoto’s first major foray into color photography, this series marks a pivotal shift from his career-long documentation of time toward the deconstruction of the materiality of light.

《光学》系列命名自牛顿1704年的同名著作。杉本博司通过老式宝丽来相机，捕捉光线穿透棱镜时折射出的色彩。他每天清晨观察天气，在特定的光学装置中捕捉瞬息万变的光影，随后将图像进行数字化处理与色调校准。在该系列中，杉本质疑了牛顿的七色光谱论，试图捕捉光谱之间无限流动的过渡色。他融合了牛顿的客观实验、歌德的感性色彩论以及东方佛教“色即是空”的哲学思想，将色彩视为本质空虚的现象。作为艺术家首个彩色摄影系列，这标志着他从“记录时间”向“解构光的物质性”的重大突破。