ANDY WEBSTER
NO LE RAYON VERT TONIGHT
NO LE RAYON VERT TONIGHT [2025]
Materials: white vinyl text against holographic silver card. 594 × 841 mm (23.4 × 33.1 inches).
In 1988, I met the artist Patrick Heron at Eagle's Nest, his home overlooking the Atlantic near Zennor, Cornwall, UK. We discussed the green ray—the rare optical phenomenon that occasionally flashes at sunset when atmospheric conditions align perfectly. Later that same day, as I walked towards Zennor village, I saw it: a fleeting emerald spark as the sun dipped below the sea.
Since then, despite numerous attempts, patient vigils, disappointed evenings, and even now living on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic, I have never again seen the green ray.
The declaration "No Le Rayon Vert Tonight" is displayed in white vinyl lettering against a holographic silver card. When viewed directly, the card catches and fractures the ambient light, producing a green optical shimmer across its surface. The piece presents a playful paradox: in declaring the absence of the green ray, it conjures its own elusive green flash.