NEON SALTWATER IN DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS
Public Art
Client: Life is Beautiful
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Artist: Neon Saltwater
Service: Concept, Curation, Development and Production
Convened by the curator group Justkids, the Seattle-based digital artist and designer Neon Saltwater traveled to Downtown Las Vegas for Life is Beautiful’s 2022 edition to freshen up a 1930’s gas station. The vintage structure was transformed into a beautiful retro landscape rendered in bright fluorescent neon lights bouncing off dreamy colors. Notorious for her rooms and spaces renderings, Neon Saltwater’s digital images come forward in an unvirtual 3D dreamscape titled Mystery Cruise 1990 and provide the viewer with a real environment created by an artist whose work is mainly known on a screen.
This color-saturated, make-believe world of Neon Saltwater portrays feelings of euphoria and nostalgia, which are major themes in all of her works, effectively striking a chord with the digitally-raised Gen Z generation and their love for all things ’90s and the resurgence of the Y2K aesthetics.
“This installation was an opportunity for me to adapt to a building in Vegas that is abandoned and has existed as many things. The shape of the building already sort of looked like something I would create in 3D, so it was perfect. It reminded me of a convenience store and I wanted to make it into something that looked like ecstasy, using color and light…. There are haunting elements to it such as my hand-designed font that is inspired by teenage horror novels from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the plants inside the glowing room. You may want answers to what and why, but you won't find out and that is another feeling that many people get from my work.”
- Neon Saltwater
“In an era where many artists go from the physical to the digital space, we thought it would be interesting to actually export Neon Saltwater’s cyber wonders into a non-virtual art experience, not just on a screen, but in a tangible public art form. Physically manifesting Mystery Cruise 1990, an exclusive digital rendering space with dreamy colors, neon lights, and spooky ‘90s vibes into an immersive piece outside of a social media platform, is almost like a paranormal experience and so satisfying for the Neon Saltwater’s fans like myself”
- Justkids Curator and Director, Charlotte Dutoit