Starting to work with Neon in 2010 and its cousin plasma in 2012 as a new way to express ideas, Garry organised a group show called Electric Glass in 2012/2013 with the staff of The Pah Homestead, home of The James Wallace Arts Trust. Getting together ten artists who worked with neon as part of their practice collectively proved to be hugely popular, and was followed up by a solo show of Garry's, Neon Sign. This toured three venues and instigated several contributors of the original show to form 'The Neon Collective', who produced work together and separately for Art in the Dark 2013 and 2014 and White Night 2015, which Garry also displayed the second incarnation of his installation, 'From Chaos to Order', which was originally made for 'Neon Sign 2', a solo show at Pataka Museum of Art and Design, Porirua.
A gently humorous take on the pun of 'birdcage', Bird makes visual and three dimensional statement on the way we read words and objects.
A floor standing, three dimensional neon, 'The Apparatus' flirts with the notion of the chemistry laboratory, while challenging the traditional notion of neon as a flat and functional signage. Its marriage of blown glass technologies with neon technique is loquacious through its own conversation between the form that has created from these two.
Beacon was made for Art in the Dark 2013, and is a whimsical take the ideas surrounding this concept for this event, using light, stature and a lacework like structure to attract attention.
Lost in Translation is an exercise in frustration for the viewer, and an inside joke to the apprentice neon maker, as the brain automatically tries to make words out of the tumble of letters presented, but always falling short, despite coming up with some interesting associations along the way.
'From Italy' presents a little Pandora's box of neon, causing wonder as to what it contains and as to where it might have come from.
The first in a series, Suitcase one moves on from 'From Italy' to question all the baggage and preconceived ideas that we carry around in life.
The second in a series, Suitcase two also moves on from 'From Italy' and questions all the baggage and preconceived ideas that we carry around in life.
The third in a series, and the only plasma work in the show, Plasma Suitcase also moves on from 'From Italy' to question not only all the baggage and preconceived ideas that we carry around in life, but also the latent energy that we store in them and its purpose.
Neon Sign was the title work from Garry's solo show's, and is a call out to the viewer, a reminder to look at and question what you are actually looking at through a statement of the obvious.
Based on a traditional sight test and punning on the idea of traditional neon telling us what is there, Red Blue Yellow Green tests the gap better reading and association. Flashing through one colour at a time, can we read the name of one colour if it is written in another, or does our inner censor take over?
Subway sign plays with the sheer delight of working with the materials of neon and metal in a visual and more symbolic way that would normally be used.
'Too Easy/Too hard' is a
Too Easy/Too Hard is a two way flashing neon artwork on steel mesh that asks opposing questions of the viewer to create pause about what we really consider to be simple or difficult.
Give Way toys with the notions and techniques of traditional signage while delivering a distinctly different reading through its glass work, leaving the viewer to make their own interpretation of this signs 'message'
'Wickerman 2" uses the idea and upright structure of the burning wickerman through a suspended crackle tube to generate the idea of heat, movement, light and 'liveness'.
'From Chaos to Order' is an installation work that makes visual the reverse of a prism scattering light, the broken colours slowly straightening out and coming to order in pure white vertical lines.
Stop is another work playing with the notions and readings of traditional signage in a non traditional format.
First Work Stop was the first work made combining blown glass with neon making techniques. It plays with the notions and readings of traditional neon box signage in a non written format.
Roller Coaster plays with the notions and readings of fairground signage in a non written format.
The Neon Collective For White Night, 2015
This is the second incarnation of 'From Chaos to Order' done especially for White Night in Remuera, 2015. It was installed in a disused retail venue called Petroushka for seven days, exposing the viewing public to contemporary neon in an accessible setting.
