One of my favorite shows is the series of Mary Weatherford’s I’ve Seen Gray Whales Go at Gagoian. And one of the works is very appealing to me, it is called The Gate, and its material is flashe and neon on linen.
This exhibition can attract me because it gives people a powerful visual effect, both in color and in the creation itself. She inspired by illuminated signs along the streets of old Bakersfield, California, casting an industrial light onto the fields of color, the neon tubes read as hand-drawn lines across the surface, although they are sometimes so bright that they are blinding to look at, creating afterimages. Few people would think of connecting neon lights and paintings. Most of her works can be said to be very random, it seems that there is no particular meaning, but it will not make you feel confused, this is where I think it is magical.
Although the neon is very bright and prominent, it does not take all your attention, because I think this has a lot to do with the background color. What makes me feel very interesting is that if you look closely, you will find that almost all of his works use red, making the painting more unrestrained.
The reason I like this work most is that it gives a feeling of oppression at the beginning, but then the neon lights give you a sense of freedom, just like a soul that is longing for freedom in the bounded body. And this reminds me of my family or most Chinese families. My parents have stringent requirements for me, whether in the study or life. But what I can’t accept is that they don’t support my dream very much. To realize my dreams, I need to prove to them that I can do it, and then they will probably believe me. I am a very assertive person, if it is what I really want to do, I will give everything to achieve this goal and I will use actions to prove it.
