Public Art
Client:  Life is Beautiful
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Artist: Neon Saltwater

Service: Concept, Curation, Development and Production

Invited by the curator group Justkids, the Seattle-based digital artist and designer Abby Dougherty known as Neon Saltwater traveled to Downtown Las Vegas for Life is Beautiful’s 2023 ten year anniversary edition, to completely transform an abandoned auto repair shop reimagined into a chromatically vibrant fantasy titled "Cherry Lake".

This renewal transported festival goers and community members alike into one of the vibrant and uncanny etherial locale created by the artist, who is mainly known for her ominous digital scenes of rooms, malls, and vending machines rendered in neon tones. This time she brought her new work in an IRL experience. Blending futuristic vibes with Y2K nostalgia, this multi-era deja vu technicolor portal includes large renderings, neon lights, and a multicolored painted gradient wrapping around the entire building. Inside an unsettling dreamy room with floating balloons’ silhouettes glows a mesmerizing red light creating a mysterious and wistful impression.

“When I am creating my work, I usually try to transmit the euphoria that I seem to naturally feel on a regular basis and that's always my starting point. However, it's my top priority that people experience complex emotions rather than just a visual vacation. Depicting the duality of observing something being so beautiful and feeling incredible grief and sadness about it at the same time will always be my end goal.”

- Neon Saltwater

“We saw in Neon Saltwater's work the perfect artist to redefine this dull space. Cherry Lake is a tribute to Las Vegas; it captures its allure and its letdowns. A recurring dichotomy that is present in Neon Saltwater’s work: the fabulous and the creepy, the futuristic and the nostalgic. Indeed, when you step into Abby's world, you find yourself in a realm where time and reality blur; things become beautifully hazy, melancholic, and weird. In a nutshell, Cherry Lake is an emotional journey through time and space that brings a truly novel approach to art within the urban space”

- Justkids Curator and Director, Charlotte Dutoit