This October 10 to 19, the artist’s neon sign paintings are exhibited alongside their 3D counterparts at God’s Own Junkyard
Courtesy of Katherine McMahon
A neon sign, once a futuristic, colorful communication device in its heyday, now might evoke a sense of cozy warmth and nostalgia. Multidisciplinary artist Katherine McMahon captures this feeling in “Open Late,” her series of neon sign paintings on display at God’s Own Junkyard in London, this 10 to 19 October.
“I’m intrigued by nostalgia as well as the idea of things in slow decline — and the way things go from being signifiers of the future to cultural artifacts,” McMahon, who’s also a photographer, says. The first commercial neon sign was used at a Paris barber shop in 1912, then the technology took off over the mid-century decades, quickly becoming a ubiquitous (and literal) sign of the times. “Neon signs are interesting territory to explore as they hit this sweet spot when they were introduced, representing technological advancement and futurism but [they] were also really aesthetically beautiful, seductive messaging devices.”
Courtesy of Katherine McMahon
God’s Own Junkyard, based in the Walthamstow section of London since 2004, is a gallery exclusively dedicated to the craft, wonder and creative usage of neon signs. Founded by the late neon artist Chris Bracey, the maximalist space houses Europe’s largest collection of vintage neon signs, displaying over 1,000 pieces ranging from Hollywood set pieces, handmade refurbished works and even iconic strip club signage.
Courtesy of Katherine McMahon
McMahon said when she visited God’s Own Junkyard, she “felt warm inside being in the presence of these signs, and that’s something LED lighting could never do. There’s a complexity and richness to seeing these signs together in one place.” As for choosing neon signage as the subject matter for her paintings, “I thought it would be interesting to explore the inverted symbology and psychological effect of presenting the contrast of representations of the neon sign via the two-dimensional, flattened medium of painting,” she says.
Courtesy of Katherine McMahon
The concept of “Open Late” was borne out of a series of American diner paintings McMahon made in 2020. Compositions like a graphic stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup, a gleaming chrome stool and, yes, a neon sign that reads “OPEN 24 HOURS” were displayed in an actual New York diner with works visible through its wide windows — a creative workaround during the pandemic’s social distancing restrictions. It’s only fitting that this collection of neon sign paintings will be physically installed in London’s ultimate neon sign playground.
Courtesy of Katherine McMahon
As technology advanced over the second half of the 20th century, most neon signs were eventually replaced with more efficient, mass-produced LED lights. “I think the idea of a future that society envisioned in the past but was never realized really connected to the ways I wanted to explore the neon signs conceptually,” Mc Mahon says. “Like the internet, neon signs were once considered a threshold technology and they altered the way people experienced and moved through the world.”
She views the iconic neon sign as a “conceptually rich framework for exploring how our primal needs probably haven’t changed much, but in the context of consumerism, the ways we experience those feelings and essentially connect to our senses has shifted.”
“Open Late” is exhibiting from 10 to 19 October, 2025 at God’s Own Junkyard in London. The opening reception is from 6 to 8 pm on 10 October.
Katherine McMahon’s Neon Sign Paintings Glow in London
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