Poignantly subverted in shorthand allusions to a personal narrative

Does the highlighted sentence mean " in short metaphors that explain her personal narratives, the medium of neon sometimes completely loses its conventional commercial role"?

Context:

There is a similar degree of irony in the way that neon is employed in the work of Tracey Emin. Although very different in nature from the work of Nauman, Emin’s practice also extends across a range of materials and forms that frequently incorporate words and, on a number of occasions, these words are expressed in neon. While Nauman’s word art tends to dwells on universals that are expressed in phrases that are seemingly less historically and culturally specific, Emin’s words are vividly resonant of her personal history. Nevertheless, the irony in Emin’s use of neon also stems from the gap between medium and message. In her case, the conventional commercial
role of neon is at times poignantly subverted in shorthand allusions to a personal narrative.