| Sculpture Information | |
|---|---|
| Completion | 2021 |
| Exhibition | BIA Light Show 2021 |
| Dimensions | 1000mm (h) x 1000mm (w) |
| Materials | 960s telephone booth, Stuart Semple's Black 3.0 paint, purple neon tubing, clear perspex, MDF |
| Status | Available for exhibition (artist's collection) |
I made Deep Connection in 2021 for the BIA Light Show. The starting point was a 1960s telephone booth I'd acquired from an old building. The booth carried decades of use, connections made through infrastructure that's now obsolete.
I removed the telephone and replaced it with a circular disk painted in Stuart Semple's Black 3.0, one of the blackest paints available outside laboratory-grade materials. The black absorbs nearly all visible light, creating the appearance of depth rather than surface. Behind the disk, I installed purple neon tubing. The glow wraps the perimeter of the black circle, creating a halo effect. The neon doesn't illuminate the disk. It frames it, which makes the black appear to recede further.
The materials are Stuart Semple's Black 3.0 paint on MDF backing, clear perspex protective layer, and standard purple neon tubing. The telephone booth is original 1960s construction. I kept the booth intact, using the existing phone mounting point for the disk installation.
The work operates through contrast. The purple glow changes intensity as you move closer or step back. The black disk appears to recede infinitely, though it's a flat surface 10mm behind the perspex. The telephone booth provides context: a device designed for connection, now housing a void. No voice on the other end. No signal. Just depth.
The work explores visual extremes: the blackest black against coloured light. Absence framed by presence. The fascination with how materials behave under light remains consistent across different forms.
Deep Connection was exhibited at the BIA Light Show in 2021. It's currently in my workshop, exhibition-ready. The neon still works. The black hasn't degraded. The booth structure is sound.
