Everything is going to be alright

For the similarly titled poem "Everything Is Going to Be All Right", see Derek Mahon.

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT is a series of installations by British artist Martin Creed. Each installation consists solely of the artwork title, formed in large neon letters and is numbered individually in Creed's catalogue. The artworks have been described as one of Creed's most iconic works.^[1]

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT
Work No. 2314: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT (2015), Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand
Artist	Martin Creed
Type	Neon sign

Works

The first installation to be given this title was Work No. 203 (1999),^[2] a temporary commission for the Clapton Portico in Hackney, London.^[3] Since then, a series of similar artworks have been installed in different social and geographical settings around the world,^[1] including:

• Work No. 203 (1999); white neon; Clapton Portico, Hackney, London
• Work No. 205 (1999); red neon; Alberto Peola Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy^[4][5]
• Work No. 225 (1999); red neon; 42nd Street/Times Square, New York City^[6][7]
• Work No. 226 (2000); white neon^[8]
• Work No. 289 (2003); white neon; British School at Rome, Italy^[9][10]
• Work No. 560 (2006); white neon; Palazzo dell'Arengario, Milan, Italy, for the exhibition I Like Things^[11][12]
• Work No. 790 (2007)
• Work No. 851 (2008)
• Work No. 975 (2008); blue neon; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)^[1]
• Work No. 1086 (2011); white neon; Museum Voorlinden, Netherlands^[13]
• Work No. 2314 (2015); rainbow neon; Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand Manufactured by David Corbett (Corbett Neon) ^[14]
• Work No. 3398 (2020); rainbow neon; Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland^[15]
• Work No. 3435 (2020); rainbow neon; Braemar Castle, Scotland^[16]

Creed has since used neon lettering in several artworks spelling other phrases, including "DON'T WORRY"^[17] and "MOTHERS".^[18]

Reaction

The installation has been described as 'visually spectacular'.^[1] Tate Britain curator Debra Lennard described the artworks as "tak[ing] on slightly different inflections according to the circumstances of their display".^[17] While some reviewers have noted the hopeful^[15] and familiar^[1] tone of the phrase, others have interpreted the artwork as suggesting that "everything might not be alright"^[1] and an "ironic comment on today’s consumer-driven world".^[12]

Gallery

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT.

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  Work No. 203, Tate Britain

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  Work No. 975, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)

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  Work No. 1086, Museum Voorlinden

References

1. "Work No. 975 EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT". National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
2. "Martin Creed Work No. 203". www.martincreed.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
3. Lennard, Debra. "'Work No. 203: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT', Martin Creed, 1999". Tate. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
4. "Martin Creed Work No. 205". www.martincreed.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
5. "Work No. 205, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, 1999 : Martin Creed : Artimage". www.artimage.org.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
6. "Martin Creed Work No. 225". www.martincreed.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
7. "Work No. 225, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, 1999 : Martin Creed : Artimage". www.artimage.org.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
8. "Martin Creed Work No. 226". www.martincreed.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
9. "Martin Creed Work No. 289". www.martincreed.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
10. "Work No. 289, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, 2003 : Martin Creed : Artimage". www.artimage.org.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
11. "Martin Creed Work No. 560". www.martincreed.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
12. "I Like Things". Fondazione Nicola Trussardi. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
13. Rush, Faisal (3 April 2020). "5 Short Fierce Statements that Help 'Dig a Cave into the Future'". Improvised Life. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
14. "Work No. 2314". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
15. "Martin Creed: Work No. 3398 EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT | MOCA Cleveland". mocacleveland.org. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
16. "Everything is going to be alright | Fife Arms". thefifearms.com. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
17. "'Work No. 890: DON'T WORRY', Martin Creed, 2008". Tate. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
18. Searle, Adrian (23 January 2011). "Mothers at Hauser & Wirth - review". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2021.