Liz West creates vivid environment that mix luminous colour and radiant light. She works across a variety of mediums, aiming to provoke a heightened sensory awareness in the viewer. The award-winning visual artist was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize. Now, she draws inspiration from the light and joy that define the festive season, reinterpreting these themes for a contemporary, 10.7-metre sculpture that will become a focal point for visitors to King’s Cross. We spoke to West about her latest work, how she creates her designs and where her fascination with colour began.
Tell us about how you first started working in light and colour. Where did that fascination begin?
My passion and interest in colour and light go as far back as I can remember. I discovered as a child that I was incredibly sensory, and my methods of play were linked to ordering and understanding colour through the medium of light. I learnt elementary colour theory before I could read. Both my parents are artists and had studios at home, where I spent a lot of time. I would play with art materials that were readily available to me; PVA glue, inks, sequins, cellophane, watercolours and beads; all of which have translucent or light reflecting qualities.
This is the first time you’ve introduced black to sit alongside your signature chromatic palette. What made you decide to do this?
I have wanted to explore monochrome tones to complement my signature vibrant colour palette for a long time, and never found the right opportunity. With my new work, Fluorescence, which forms part of the annual series of winter installations at King’s Cross, I am using neon bright hues for the first time (those that glow when lit with UV). I also felt that the use of black, in particular, would help break the ferocious vividness of the colours and give the eye a rest when looking at the enormous structure.
The installation is very much in harmony with its environment, even using UV lights to make the piece glow as night falls. How do you consider the location when creating a piece?
My work always has to feel like it ‘belongs’, and it has to sit comfortably in its surroundings, wherever they are. Granary Square in King’s Cross is vast, with an enormous building (The Granary Building, home to Central St Martins university) shadowing it. My work has to be bold and grand, although feminine and elegant, in its stature and appearance in order to make any impact on this public space. I have spent a lot of time over the years at Granary Square, I know it well, but even after a site visit, I felt instinctively what the work needed to be and how I wanted it to look. When I make art within the public realm it has to ‘work’ both in the daytime and in the dark. This dual functionality is especially important in the winter months, when we (when I say ‘we’, I mean as a nation living in the northern hemisphere with daylight saving) crave and desire light and bright colour in order to help our mental wellbeing.
Who, or what, inspires you creatively?
The site often is the starting point and inspires a lot about the work. More widely, my work is inspired by many things that I have seen and experienced over my lifetime that feeds into everything I do: notably the 1990’s and the bright ‘pop’ aesthetics I grew up with; my love of theatre, dance and performance whereby things appear larger than life and are exaggerated on stage by the use of optics and illusion; my fascination and obsession with colours/colour theory and its power to alter, affect and change our personal perceptions; going to amazing exhibitions and seeing jaw-dropping artworks; the world around me which needs an injection of colour!
Your work is often an exploration of how sensory phenomena can invoke a psychological and physical response in audiences. Why is this a topic that interests you?
I am highly sensory and my experiences of the world are affected as a result of this. I know first-hand how noisy the world can be, therefore my work is a reflection and reaction to this.
What do you hope people take away from viewing your work?
I hope that my work allows people to slow down to appreciate the world around them, hopefully people stop to notice things they might not have ordinarily seen because I have shone a light on them (sometimes literally). The space around the works are exaggerated through coloured hues, and our sensory experience is heightened as a result. My colour palette and use of light are both joyful and celebratory; I hope that people take away a sense of sanctuary or quietness amidst our busy and loud world.
How do you approach a new installation? Do you collaborate with engineers to take ideas from paper to reality?
The start of an installation can happen in different ways, but usually it begins with visiting the site. From this I take information, photographs/videos and think about what the space ‘needs’ or lacks. I make sketches, sometimes over the top of printed images, to articulate my ideas. Other times I print colour-ways or designs onto acetate and construct mini 3D models. Once I have established what I want to make, I then collaborate with a number of different people ranging from fabricators, technicians, engineers, and curators to realise the piece. This process can be very quick, but it can also take years (especially for the larger, more structurally integrated works).
Why is it important to you to add colour to everyday urban environments?
Colour plays a pivotal role in how with we interact with and experience the spaces we inhabit. It enlivens, enhances and adds nuances to otherwise grey concrete/steel urban environments. Think of how beautiful the colours of the natural world are – the fresh and verdant colours of spring, the vibrant and rich tones of summer, the rusty and warm hues of autumn and the jewel-like pops amongst the subdued in winter. The colour in the urban world is mainly thrown on us via screens or advertisements. My work aims to address this by offering a balanced and harmonious use of colour in the public realm.
You were shortlisted for the 2016 Aesthetica Art Prize. Looking back, how did that experience influence your career over the past 8 years?
Being shortlisted and having the opportunity to exhibit my work as part of the Art Prize was a great moment for me, which came early on in my career. Installing and adapting artworks in new environments is a learning curve and teaches you so much going forward.
Is there a work you’re most proud of? What is it about that one that makes it stand out?
There are many, but for different reasons. Your Colour Perception offered me a ‘moment’ where I tested my ability to make work on a monumental indoor scale. Our Colour Reflection was the first piece I made with natural rather than artificial light, which has since toured all over the world and has been seen by people of different cultures and backgrounds. I also feel that Hundreds and Thousands at Greenwich Peninsula was a pivotal piece as it allowed me to transform an existing outdoor space in a super site-specific and exciting way.
What’s next for you? Anything we can look forward to?
Besides my festive winter installation, Fluorescence in Granary Square at King’s Cross, I am delighted to be exhibiting Our Colour Reflection at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (15 November 2024 – 5 January 2025) in the historic Chapel. I am also working on several other commissions and exhibitions which are in the pipeline and will launch early next year.
Flourescence is at King’s Cross from 13 November 2024 until February 2025: kingscross.co.uk
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
Fluorescence by British visual artist, Liz West, who has been commissioned by King’s
Cross to design this year’s Granary Square winter installation. The contemporary, 10.7-
metre sculpture features bold stripes of fluorescent neon colours and monochromatic
tones to form a luminous centrepiece that welcomes in the winter season. Photography
by John Sturrock.
Hundreds and Thousands by Liz West commissioned by Greenwich Peninsula, on The Tide at Greenwich Peninsula Photo credit – Charles Emerson.
Liz West, Our Colour Reflection, 2024, installation view at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Courtesy the artist. Photo ©Jonty Wilde, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park_9.
Liz West, Hymn to the Big Wheel, 2022. Photos by Jakob Dahlin, courtesy of Manhattan West.
