Artist lights up local gallery with neon art

AMMAN — Neon lights stop serving a mere lightning function to become art at the new “Lamba Neon” solo exhibition by artist Hana Ghawi, inaugurated at the Wadi Finan Art Gallery earlier this week. 

Visitors can see Arabic calligraphy and Middle Eastern motifs crafted in the neon signs lighting the gallery in an exhibition that will run through November 1.

The word “love”, written in Arabic in a big, pink neon sign welcomes the gallery’s visitors, giving them a hint about the message conveyed by the artist. 

“It is all about love,” Ghawi told The Jordan Times, expressing that “this exhibition is an eclectic, catchy take on the different aspects of love, and every single piece has something to do with it”.

When asked about the reasons behind focusing on neon lights, the artist explained that “it all started after living abroad for a while, when I realised the potential of neon as art”.

“In Jordan, neon lights were used as mere signage for stores, and I wanted to take them and make them into art for our country,” she continued, noting that she started working with local and regional artists to achieve this. 

Ghawi was working in the advertising sector until she realised art was her “true call”. 

“I was so fully involved in the creative process that I felt the need to get out of my office and to start doing art exclusively. This is how Lamba Neon started,” the artist explained.

Lamba Neon is the company started by Ghawi, which specialises in the design and manufacture of bespoke neon art. 

Based in Amman, the label aims to add a modern twist to a product that has stood the test of time, reviving the American 80s trend and connecting it with the Middle Eastern culture, she concluded.