Illuminate: Two artists obsessed with the notion of light

by Anita Bell

After walking down a long hallway and into the great hall of the University of Toronto’s historic Hart House, take a right. From a distance, a strange green light emanates from within a gothic looking tower. Move closer. There is a narrow opening in the limestone that may be hard to fit through. Go through. Inside a winding staircase is the home of three large bats each casting web-like patterns on the medieval walls.

This is Lisa’s World of Terror, part of an exhibit called 18 Installations and Interventions.The bats are made of entwined, electrical wire, one of creator Lisa Neighbour’s specialties. The artists involved in this exhibit were invited to find a place in Hart House that spoke to them. Neighbour found the tower and thought it was "too perfect."

She is currently going through chemotherapy treatment and wanted to use the “weird energy” that came with being sick and put it in her work. "I looked at the tower as being me, being sick and trying to defend myself. The bats represent my body being invaded by these creatures that are supposed to cure me but are making me very sick." She says she sees light as a metaphor for the energy that runs through her body and creates consciousness.

Neighbour admits she is afraid of the dark and light is comforting to her. "Some people notice faces and do portraits. I’ve always liked things that glow in the dark," she laughs, "even fire flies."
Born in Montreal, Neighbour and her family moved to Germany when she was three years old for her father’s work. By the time she was eight, they had returned to Canada, this time residing in Toronto. Her parents did not approve of watching television so Neighbour and her two siblings kept themselves occupied by drawing, sculpting and putting on performances.

She completed a four-year general studies program at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) where she learned a lot about printmaking. She did some sculpting and painting as well, but none of it was really what she wanted to do.

After school, Neighbour says she went through a period of crisis, trying to figure out what her next step would be. "I was trying to kick all the education out of my brain and make work as a mature artist and not a student."

It was around this time that she found the inspiration for her first light piece at a church near her family’s home.

Each summer, during a religious celebration, the front of the church would be covered with lights, flowers and painted images on large pieces of plywood. "It was really cheesy during the day, but at dark someone would flick a switch and a beautiful parallel was created," says Neighbour. The lights made it possible for someone to go beyond the raw materials and see an amazing image.
While she continued to work on prints and sculptures, Neighbour still wasn’t content with her work and began experimenting with lights and electricity. She would create patterns and images with a drill in plywood and fill the holes with Christmas lights. "I thought hey, I’ll do what I want in the privacy of my own studio and maybe it won’t ever see the light of day."

Neighbour’s first installation was a collection of lamps. All of the wires disappeared behind a wall, creating the illusion that the electricity came from nowhere.

She soon realized her true interest was in how the light was created: in its electricity, circuits and wires. Since this realization, Neighbour has begun to include the electrical wires as part of her work. "I now think of the wires as a drawing, I’m not just creating the functional part of the art."
Neighbour’s work can also be seen in 18 Illuminations, an exhibit which is touring Canada. The show features 18 artists who all use light in their work. Neighbour’s piece is a huge periodic table created by strands of lights. The wires create the grid while the coloured bulbs differentiate the groups of elements.

Canadian artist, Reuel Dechene is also included in the 18 Illuminations show. Like Neighbour, Dechene’s love for lights was discovered in a Canadian city.

Dechene too was born in Montreal but had to move to Southern Ontario with his parents at the age of 12. This big move was what inspired him to work with lights. He says he found himself longing for the lights of the city. "I tried to recreate what I missed,” he says.

Shortly after Dechene finished high school, he moved back to Montreal. He began a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Concordia University, but his interest in music distracted him. "I cut a lot of classes to DJ and do some rock and roll journalism," says Dechene.

After living in Ottawa for 15 years, he has recently returned to Montreal yet again. When he speaks of where he lives now, his face practically lights up. "It’s really great to be back here," he says. "Ottawa is kind of dull; it didn’t light up, Montreal lights up."

Although his art is mainly visual he says it still has ties to music. He began by focusing on four letter words and four channel light sequences because both go well with four-four time.

Dechene also works with old hubcaps. For the 18 illuminations show, he chose to include three of his Christmas light covered hubcaps. Each hangs beside one another, the colourful lights flashing on and off in sync. While many people wouldn’t think twice about an old hub cap, Dechene recognizes the many levels it has. It used to be that all cars had heavy hubcaps Dechene says. They have slowly developed into plastic and now are not even included on most cars.

"Old hubcaps were very dangerous and it was exciting when one flew off (a car)," he says. "I create new meanings. They use to be meant to put up with a lot of abuse but now they are delicate and must be put up on a museum wall or something."

Dechene and Neighbour have chosen to share their passion for light with the world. In Neighbour’s case, light can illuminate a dark space. For Dechene light represents a memory of something he once lost and found again. The 18 illuminations show, which features both Neighbour’s and Dechene’s art, will tour public galleries from Halifax to Winnipeg throughout 2006.