Farewell to a leading light in art and design
I’ve shown Chris Bracey’s neon lettering work on Type Worship several times over the last few years. I was first introduced to his unmatched designs through a friend who’d bought a special piece of art from him and, knowing I’d love it, was eager to share the story of its origin, Sadly Chris passed away this weekend.
A trip to his plot, packed with neon signs, in East London called God’s Own Junk Yard had been high on my list of places to visit for while. Chris had mastered the art of making neon signs over 30 year and started out by producing signs for the infamous sex industry in Soho, London.
“I did 99 percent of every sex establishment in Soho for 20 years,” he told the BBC last year. “For me, it was an artistic endeavour.”
His work gained notoriety over the last decade, bolstered by its inclusion in several big screen movies (even lighting up Gotham City in three batman films), which promoted crowds to visit his warehouse. Chris has annually created winter window displays for Selfridges department store in London’s Oxford Street, where you can currently see his work on display today.
Chirs’s final tweet:
Hi Chris ere, just wanna let you know I am actually in Gods Own Junk Yard and let me tell you its bleedin amazing up ere. xx
Previous Posts on Chris Bracey: Neo Neon, Gods Own Junk Yard, Neon Man
Photo Credits: 1,2: Rob Greig, TimeOut, 3: GQ, 4,5,6,7: uncredited, 8: (Marco Vittur Photographer).
I was reminded of Chris Bracey today. His light is still shining today.