Cerith Wyn Evans’s work takes form through the reflection on and interrogation of our notions of reality and cognition, perception and subjectivity, adopting what art critic Martin Prinzhorn has identified as strategies of ‘superimposition and contradiction, by concealing and revealing,’ to create moments of rupture within existing structures of communication whether visual, audio or conceptual. Neon Forms (after Noh I) is the first in a series of seminal ‘neon drawings’ the artist conceived in 2015. Taking inspiration from the choreology and codified, precise movements of traditional Japanese Noh theater, the work lyrically maps the notations inherent to movement, giving rise to their physical form. Neon Forms (after Noh I) comprises a complex maze of white neon, suspended from the ceiling, with arcs extending, folding and disappearing like gestures in space through a combination of delicate singular lines and dense, chaotic clusters. With its highly refined aesthetic and multiple points of entry, it resists closed form, creating a suspended ‘figure’ that at times appears as if drawn from a single fragmented line, while from others, as if extruding and collaging space itself – making our experience of the work elastic. The complex form or ‘figure’ suggests the folds and flow of energy, unfolding over time, through space.
