A graph circulating on TikTok has revived a debate raging across the Internet. The graph, part of a non-peer-reviewed study that analyses colours of objects, suggests that greys and blacks are taking over the world.

It all arises from a 2020 blog post by researchers analysing colour in 7,000 photographs of objects (from the 1800s to 2020) — from a few British museums and cutting across 21 sections of objects, including household appliances. Grey, concluded the study, is the dominant colour today.

From furnishing experts to fashion icons, everyone is weighing in on this. Some say neutrals, being soothing, are bound to be king in our stressful world. Others are urging the world to embrace colour and “individuality”. Yet others are pointing to a long-standing colour conspiracy — that the West has a hatred of colour.

In his book  Chromophobia (2000), Scottish artist and writer David Batchelor argues that “colour is often represented as feminine or Oriental or primitive or infantile” and that this colour bias is linked to “issues of race, culture, class and gender”. He makes the point that “Chromophobia manifests itself in the many and varied attempts to purge colour from culture, to devalue colour, to diminish its significance, to deny its…