Kadir López: Lighting up Havana

As Cuba’s capital city Havana celebrates its 500th birthday, one artist has been making it his mission to recreate the famous neon signs that used to adorn buildings and light up the streets and squares. Kadir López has had his multimedia work exhibited worldwide, but over the past few years he has been driven by a passion for neon and the concept of connecting Havana’s present with its colourful past. He and his small team of skilled craftspeople remake the signs in a workshop in the centre of Havana, often in searing heat and soaring temperatures. There are specialist procedures needed for the bending of the neon and the colouring and design. Then the signs have to be carefully re-positioned on buildings, using scaffolding and cranes. Julia Galiano-Rios watches Kadir as he brings the signs to life and hears how the use of neon can throw new light – both physical and spiritual – on a city.