#scream gallery

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Neon, Neon, Everywhere

Neon is now a pretty widely used medium within contemporary art. From Tracey Emin to Nicky & Rob Carter to Joseph Kosuth and Kelly Mark, art has grown fond of the coloured hand blown bulb. Chris Bracey has been using neon in his work for over 37 years and has acquired a vast fan base for his provocative installations.

Chris has been in the game for a long time, making, collecting and reusing signs that have appeared alongside some of the Hollywood's biggest stars. Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut, Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jack Nicholson in Batman are just a few that popped up in Bracey's collections. His fondness for re-appropriated pop signage has meant that his work has become a commodity in itself. Vivienne Westwood, David la Chappelle and and Turner Prize winner Martin Creed have also commissioned work from the artist.

He reuses  unwanted and unloved items from film sets and goes about giving them the Bracey treatment. His studio in East London aptly titled Gods Own Junk Yard is a haven for the lost and its a  place where neon never dies. Stacked to bursting with bulbs, lettering, billboards and signposts the studio/junk yard is the birth place of a bold aesthetic.

Represented by Scream Gallery in London Bracey has had a stellar year. His exhibition in April earlier this year was hugely successful as he mixed pop imagery with religious iconography. Even Jesus got the Bracey treatment. If you missed it first time around, not to worry, Scream Gallery opens Telling Tales on the 13th December. This group exhibition (featuring Bracey) also includes  David Buckingham, Meg Hitchcock  and Sally Fuerst among others.

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Chris Bracey at SCREAM gallery in Soho, London

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THE INTERVIEW: CHRIS BRACEY

Chris Bracey got his start in the art world making neon signs for sex shops in Soho before being chosen to work on iconic films like Eyes Wide Shut and Batman. We speak with the artist ahead of his first solo show at London’s Scream gallery to find out why bargaining with Soho shop workers landed him his first film job and why working with krypton is a step too far.

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Regine Schumann sculptures

Scream Gallery London