Alphabetica Redux Re:PRESENTED by Paul Hartigan for SCAPE Public Art Season 2018

Alphabetica Redux revisited the process of drawing with light explored in the 2004 work Alphabetica, which was part of SCAPE Art and Industry Urban Arts Biennial 04, within LightSCAPE, curated by Deidre Brown and Jonathan Mane Wheoki. Using the same aqua laser light technology, now capable of rendering a greater suite of colours, Auckland-based artist Paul Hartigan produced a delicate, dynamic, pulsing activation of space and surface.

The live draw element on the opening night brought heightened spontaneity and liveness to the project. In terms of popular culture, laser light projections became notable within the Disco era of the 1970s and gained global prominence through nightclub and rave scenes in the 1980s and 1990s. While still used in spectacular displays, other technologies like high-definition pixel-mapped imagery projected onto architecture have come to the fore, which infused this work with a somewhat nostalgic air.

Hartigan, widely recognised for his large-scale public light commissions (often using neon), also produces paintings, photographs and fine art prints. Hartigan blends childhood nostalgia with contemporary references to create his distinctive urban imagery. Consistently defined by a subversive edge and a darkly witty humour, Hartigan’s works are often subtly undercut by astute social and political perceptions.