![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKwpK4iRDxf-6Jpo5ygGvVN8fxG86W5FFJwacZNmAGyBpwYa_-lB00m-aLJC14iKhGhO0Q2zMoB6uYjE2BGQ4wCuRMBzJdecJ4f8en4fj3xWttZUDbmSB8M4Buj5YkPzCjjI-d1gTaohn/s400/hartigan2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtZftNZ2Mp6JhzQtisaiJV1CLMtPHYtqGz3vriULJd9JNroRSBXXESuGgwCZD-7HFjcFx3erP8XYqCWxEAyQXIiqxN0IcfCxCkRdIrQWGHayZXQ2TTNR1IfkP3y6bfhFI5-zbHpdo9cFg/s400/hartigan1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5YgLDOglfM0uiZ439f40Ts0y2ssQ7_JpSDKM7Pj3EgpewoRYOVB0n-4oMvFlwdvSbm3HJAak-7URBxj15KsfqWbwCl1FqLoiZLoxaCw8ls4X1afIcejLbZQiSRhroUQyJKlsPNsqeeLF/s400/hartigan3.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38zibjImYKc1As2WHey1HKaDL4vjWaMZRFdvw5RxJ99kw893gZetfH0d2_yKuu6LdGEiicKy2MhSWffYl0ECe3hMDYNurn5GnXecQQJTVn8o1ygfRrQx52KkpMnJoQg2wPGY5GUVf5tfE/s400/hartigan6.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7u7UENEjrz4vWOiTqnSOBesRihz7mSgMvEIN5igTWMpEWHRgxbMGyoHmcCMXIKrRL6MDMPMsUG3tTXMZ7nrPBem6z69oLZIgF8UoIg5JHwqjJXBM5000K_i2BZZzMbSXfPwYEEVj9ZHh/s400/hartigan4.jpg)
"I made Colony to enhance and counterpoint the monumentalism of its site: the lecture theatre and surrounding buildings in the Faculty of Engineering. This expansive neon light drawing adds a sense of transition and movement to the space. Clustered elements radiate from a point, then travel towards the perimeter, morphing from semi-figurative motifs to abstract-surrealist gestures.
"Rendered by my trademark graphic style, a synthesis of writing, pictographs and abstraction, the forms appear random, chaotic or free-form but are actually highly considered and carefully placed. The title suggests a collection of related entities with similar goals cohabitating in a new found territory. I chose neon gas for its vital 'living fire' quality. The incendiary persimmon colour of the tubes is the chromatic opposite of the tinted green glass encapsulating the space."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6kp-r8EVhdev2ChyuSpeKoAviy6JKLdmzCQtlHujJR-b9rfDJCxvmnCK1nfiheGcWm2TOfs0bQGXBwa5IKOU5kw1DJIMT971gekjH1_xrJY072VBoKHbI_ntHi82eskee9cgmPu7e6Wy/s400/hartigan5.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSH-Zmafrnadh3FecOkCUKq8x1Z_7B0UaIsuvbRpR_Jje8hV6MBQJWeteuHt_jh33589bcqdoQKN8KDkH3SUh8u4KCqa537NtzSRY7kEkSMh2jr2wthYE0oTKQ_Ewz_udIJvpGQ9jwdrZ/s400/hartigan7.jpg)
I returned to this work three times while I was in Auckland, every time inspired again - not only for the way it so successfully captures the nature of its 'busy, colonised' environment but simply because I was so drawn to it and the way it appears to 'move and dance' away from its base, to fully interact with that environment via a set of ever-moving, ever-changing reflections. Lovely!