British artist Liz West has created Fluorescence, a neon installation designed to bring joy to its visitors at Granary Square in Kings Cross, London.
Sat atop a plinth in front of Central Saint Martins university, the 10.7-metre-tall Fluorescence installation is composed of an elongated tetrahedron structure designed to reinterpret the shape of a Christmas tree.
Intended as a contemporary interpretation of the festive themes of light and joy, West’s design was finished with bold stripes of fluorescent neon colours outlined by black lines.
Wrapping around the structure in a diagonal formation, the colourful stripes were designed to encourage people to move around the artwork to view the colours intersecting from each angle.
“Fluorescence, with its bold neon hues and dominant stature, is predominately about the power and experience of colour and light on us within the urban environment,” West told Dezeen.
“I have also used black for the first time within my work to break up the eye-sizzling fluorescent colours,” she added.
Additionally, UV lights integrated into the base of the structure allow Fluorescence’s aluminium panels to glow at night – rendering it a “luminous centrepiece” for the public square.
“The scale and bright colouration used in the artwork serves as a beacon that radiates and reflects colour all across Granary Square,” West said.
“I hope that all my artwork creates joy and encourages wellbeing for those that encounter it, which taps into the themes of the festive season.”
The installation is the latest artwork to be presented as part of Granary Square’s annual winter installation series and will remain on display until February 2025.
Previous years’ installations include a glowing Christmas tree installation composed of neon light poles and a pyramid-shaped structure designed to emulate a forest of Christmas trees.
West is a British artist working between the disciplines of sculpture, architecture, design and painting to create immersive artwork featuring luminous colours.
Other recently completed installations featured on Dezeen include playful public sculptures designed to bring “surrealism into the public realm” and a sculpture that reinterprets stone vaulting using glass blocks.
The photography is by John Sturrock.
