Nostalgia for neon signs

gulftoday.ae | Nostalgia for neon signs
DUBAI: Painful Memory brings together seven recent neon works by
emerging
Iranian artist Saeed Farahani for his first exhibition in
Dubai.

Farahani’s fascination with the use of neon as an
artistic medium arises from a
nostalgia for neon signs in Tehran, which
saw its popularity boom across the city’s
landscape during the sixties
and seventies.

These neons heralded modernity and were a symbol of the technological advancements
that had begun in the country at the time.

Neons
also represented a fusion of art and industry, serving mainly the
leisure,
tourism and trade industries. They adorned cinemas, shops,
hotels, clubs, etc.,
creating a man-made light show across the city’s
landscape.

Presented at Gallery 2 at Etemad Dubai, this grouping
together of text and imagery
creates a contemplative environment to
reflect on the simple but poignant messages.

Neons have been made popular by a host of contemporary artists.

Here,
all these neons use the colour of the Iranian flag (green, white and
red)
to evoke the ways in which change is manifested in the memory of
the artist,
one that will undoubtedly be shared by a young generation of
Iranians.