Jonny Niesche’s Electric Light Orchestra is an enthralling blend of music, light, and the ethereal allure of flying creatures irresistibly drawn to brilliance. This interplay mirrors the mesmerizing dance around light, characteristic of moths, fireflies, and beetles: a visual metaphor for movement and perspective. It forms a unique narrative that reflects the exhibition’s central themes of beauty and attraction; a captivating visual display inspired by music and emblematic of Niesche’s personal journey in the arts.
For this exhibition, Niesche draws inspiration from nights spent in the countryside, the activity of moths around the moon, and electric lights on verandas—directly intertwined with the show’s title. After his experiences and fascinations in the Australian outback, the artist began research into moths from around the world, which influenced his palette for this show, weaving together an interplay of light and color, art and nature. All while successfully connecting with his main artistic inspiration: music, which led him to begin his career as a visual artist.
Rooted in the vibrant electronic music scene of New York City in the 1990s, Niesche’s art evolution is deeply influenced by his collaborations with musicians from that time, absorbing a variety of musical influences from the hardcore and psychedelia to the theatrical glam rock of the 1980s, reminiscent of icons like David Bowie and Deborah Harry. His work forms a unique visual language that interconnects this diverse musical heritage with his own experiences in the music scene, and a fascination for the dance of moths towards light, thus creating a visual Electric Light Orchestra.