WHATEVER is that in the sky?
Designer’s eye-catching signs become icons of the cities in which they are built
For the past few days, inquiring minds in Auckland have wondered what the giant “WHATEVER” sign on top of 18 Sale St could possibly be all about. Now we know — Auckland has become home to a neon work created by the British artist Martin Creed.
Winner of the Turner Prize in 2001, Creed has built a reputation for big neon signs that quickly become icons of the cities in which they are installed.
This one, atop a City Works Depot building in Auckland, will be no exception.
Work No. 2950: WHATEVER is the official name of the sculpture, commissioned by City Works Depot.
The work in multicoloured capital letters is designed to flash in sequence all day long.
The sculpture was created especially for a popular dining precinct and has been installed in its northwest corner atop the former ACC building. It is more than 5m high and 50m wide, making it the artist’s largest neon sculpture. It has been positioned to be visible from various vantage points and, in particular, the viewing deck of the nearby Sky Tower.
Creed was previously commissioned for Work No. 2314: Everything Will Be Alright, which was placed on the exterior of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu¯.
The Christchurch work is particularly poignant in the context of the tragedies that have hit the southern city in recent years.
“It’s always other people that interpret the work, so everyone finds their own meaning in things,” Creed says of his Christchurch installation.
His Auckland work suggests that potential for art to hold many meanings and stimulate a variety of responses.
Creed says he prefers optimism to cynicism, and his sculpture wittily anticipates negativity or indifference, answering such reactions with a lighthearted shoulder shrug of its own.
Represented by Michael Lett in New Zealand, Creed’s work is held by a range of art institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The installation, which will be constantly illuminated with a rainbow hue, will become part of the skyline of a city that welcomes people, whatever their backgrounds, beliefs or hopes.