the street is our gallery

The up and coming digital artist and designer Abigail Dougherty, better known as Neon Saltwater traveled from Seattle to Downtown Las Vegas, invited by curator group Justkids, to freshen up a 1930’s gas station located on Fremont Street. The artist breathed new life into the vintage architecture by transforming the building into a beautiful retro landscape rendered in dreamy colors bouncing off of bright fluorescent neon lights. 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 nostalgia and euphoria, central themes in all of her works, effectively striking a chord with the digitally-raised Gen Z generation and their love for all things 90’s and the resurgence of the Y2K aesthetics.

“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 atangible 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” said Justkids Curator and Director, Charlotte Dutoit.

This mind-meltingly good installation was created for the latest Life is Beautiful Festival edition, curated by Justkids. Since its first edition in 2013, Justkids has consecutively curated the Art Program for the Music Festival, changing up the event footprint into a colorful playground and creating a growing portfolio of artworks that the local community and its visitors can enjoy, aiming to enhance this under-utilized space and encourage more pedestrian activity in the area, even after the fun is over.

Life is Beautiful is curated by www.justkids.art

Follow our projects on www.instagram.com/justkidsofficial

About Neon Saltwater

Neon Saltwater is a multimedia artist based in Seattle, Washington. Her work primarily consists of digital environments created with architectural 3D modeling programs. All imaginary spaces are tied together by consistent use of light, color, and nostalgic architectural details. While elements are often referenced from familiar environments, they are contrasted with impossible sunsets, complex color dynamics, and cinematic emotions. Neon Saltwater is heavily inspired by vintage production sets, old magazines and catalogs, and photography. The digital medium has become an outlet to create her photographs from scratch, depicting places that don’t exist in earth’s tangible world.

In addition to her digital work, she has produced a handful of experiential environments in the form of pop-ups, installations, and exhibits with collaborators, including Barneys New York. This output recontextualizes her computer-generated images into real life. The indescribable lust and joy, conflicting with a sense of angst and melancholy, strive to exist in both mediums and bring you right into the world of Neon Saltwater.

Connect with Neon Saltwater: www.neonsaltwater.com – www.instagram.com/neonsaltwater www.twitter.com/neonsaltwater