Nathan Coley

Nathan Coley
Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens, 2008

British seaside towns are often associated with retirement and the idea of a "last resort". The melancholy of these locations is touched upon by Nathan Coley's illuminated text sculpture, Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens, seen against the sky in Tontine Street. While formally suggesting the expectation of excitement, the work is redolent of seaside towns' sense of ennui. At once elegant and tacky, the use of white electric lightbulbs evokes 1970s disco glamour as well as fairground aesthetics.