Pompeii Commitment

The neon installation Pompeii Threnody. In Girum Imus Nocte et Consumimur Igni by Cerith Wyn Evans has entered the collections of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii as part of the artist’s research for Pompeii Commitment. Archaeological Matters. The work was first presented during the exhibition Pompeii Threnody, inaugurated at the Antiquarium of Boscoreale in the summer of 2025.
This piece is part of a long-standing series of neon works centred on the Latin palindrome “In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni”, which has occupied a central place in Wyn Evans’ practice for decades. The series has given rise to continuous formal and chromatic variations capable of entering into dialogue with diverse exhibition contexts, each time charged with rich historical and symbolic references.
The version conceived for Pompeii is directly related to the ancient ceremonial chariot discovered in 2021 at the Civita Giuliana excavations, now displayed in the Antiquarium of Boscoreale. The circular structure of the neon mirrors the diameter of the chariot’s wheels, establishing a rhythmic, formal, and conceptual correspondence with the archaeological artefact. In this dialogue, the luminous form functions as a visual device evoking the cyclical dimension of time and movement.
The title of the work refers to the famous Latin palindrome – readable identically forwards and backwords – traditionally interpreted as a metaphor for the circular temporality of history and natural processes, as well as the constant tension between light and shadow, creation and destruction. Through this linguistic and symbolic structure, Wyn Evans constructs an image that evokes the idea of a perpetual return to the origin, in which time manifests as a continuous oscillation between transformation and persistence.
Installed within the Antiquarium, Wyn Evans’ work suggests a subtle sense of connection between matter, memory, and representation. The neon light, suspended between physical presence and immateriality, engages in a dialogue with the building’s architecture, the Civita Giuliana chariot, and the exhibition system that accommodates it, amplifying the interplay of reflections and shadows, and generating a perceptual layering that involves objects, space, and visitors.
In this relationship between archaeological heritage and contemporary artistic language, the installation prompts reflection on the interplay between immobility and movement, the endurance of matter, and the renewal of meaning, reinterpreting Pompeii’s historical and cultural heritage as a field of continuous temporal and symbolic shifts.

Photo credits Amedeo Benestante. Courtesy Cerith Wyn Evans e Parco Archeologico di Pompei