During May half term I was very lucky to be able to visit a fantastic new experience at the Light Room in London’s Kings Cross.
“Using large-scale projection in a remarkable new space, David Hockney takes us on a personal journey through sixty years of his art.
Lightroom’s vast walls and revolutionary sound system enable us to experience the world through Hockney’s eyes.
His life-long fascination with the possibilities of new media is given vibrant expression in a show that invites us to look more closely, more truly and more joyously.”
The visual experience lasts for an hour, then loops around again, so visitors can attend in a time slot and view the entire multimedia event no matter when they begin. Its both very soothing and restful (especially when looking at Hockneys pastoral landscapes ) as well as extremely informative. This is especially useful for year 10 and 11 students who are just starting to learn and appreciate the creative process. Hockney talks significantly about his own creative process , using a voiceover narrative that is very down to earth and easy to follow – in Hockneys own inimitable earnest northern style.
“The world is very very beautiful if you look at it, but most people don’t look very much. They scan the ground in front of them so they can walk, they don’t really look at things incredibly well, with an intensity. I do.”
This event covers a wide range of his work, and includes his photography work, his digital paintings and his older landscape and pop culture paintings – including those from LA in the 80s.
The Light Room website describes the exhibition:
“In a cycle of six themed chapters, with a specially composed score by Nico Muhly and a commentary by the artist himself, Hockney reveals his process to us. His voice is in our ears as we watch him experimenting with perspective, using photography as a way of ‘drawing with a camera’, capturing the passing of time in his polaroid collages and the joy of spring on his iPad, and showing us why only paint can properly convey the hugeness of the Grand Canyon. We join him on his audio-visual Wagner Drive, roaring up into the San Gabriel Mountains, and into the opera house by means of animated re-creations of his stage designs”
I thought the experience makes fantastic use of this incredibly versatile and simple space – each different section of the documentary that rolls through Hockneys life’s work creates a different mood through changes in lighting and surround sound. You feel transported to the desert landscapes of Americas west coast, as well as feeling like you’re in the same room as Hockney, working alongside him as he paints large canvasses.
I did not know very much about Hockneys theatrical collaborations in which he designed several larger scale theatre sets for various operas – here tehy are displayed in such a way as they appear almost life size – as if you were in the audience. Digital animations are used to create the illusion of having cast members move through his set designs – all set to teh music of each opera.
This was truly a very unique and memorable way of immersing ones self into the world of David Hockney. The technology used by the Light Room is becoming more and more popular, and something like this was also used recently to showcase the paintings of Van Gogh – I can see it becoming a very popular way of reaching larger and younger audiences, which is no bad thing. The exhibition is running until October 2023 and I wholeheartedly recommend it to all Visual Arts students.
The Light room website is here:
Visual Arts 