Brightening up the world: David Hockney sunrise digital art will be broadcast worldwide 


The two and a half minute sequence will appear on billboards in London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Seoul in the month of May

The two and a half minute sequence will appear on billboards in London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Seoul in the month of May

David Hockney’s newest piece of art – a digital sunrise sequence – will be broadcast simultaneously on billboards worldwide in May. 

The six image sequence will appear on digital billboards in New York, London, Tokyo, and Seoul. 

It was created by Hockney, 83, on a iPad during lockdown and represents a message of hope and collaboration as the world emerges from the pandemic. 

The piece, titled, ‘Remember, you cannot look at the sun or death for very long’, was drawn by Hockney from sunrises in Normandy, France, where he has lived since 2019. 

The two and a half minute sequence transforms from a dark scene with long shadows to a brilliant image of bright sun rays spread dramatically across the scenery. 

The world renowned artist started experimenting with drawing on an iPad in 2009, and has praised the medium for not requiring an extensive clean up.   

‘No cleaning up needed’, he told the New York Times, ‘and I can always draw at a moment’s notice.’

The 83-year-old started drawing digital with his thumb on an iPhone before shifting to using a stylus pen on the new released iPad.

‘There was great advantage in this medium because it’s backlit and I could draw in the dark. I didn’t ever have to get out of bed,’ said the artist.

He has now produced hundreds of paintings, portraits, and still lifes, on the Apple product. 

Hockney’s latest artwork can be viewed across more than electronic billboards at New York’s Times Square at 11:57pm every evening in May. 

It will also feature on Seoul’s Coex K-POP Square screen, in the city’s Gangnam district, at 8:21pm KST, Tokyo’s Yunika Vision in Skinjuku at 9am JST, and Los Angeles’ Pendry West Hollywood, the largest digital media display on the Sunset Strip at 8:21pm PDT each day. 

It will also appear at the home of CIRCA London’s Piccadilly Lights, Europe’s largest screen, at 8:21pm BST. 

The piece will also feature on the organisation’s website every evening at 8:21pm BST. 

David Hockney's newest piece of art - a digital sunrise sequence - will be broadcast simultaneously on billboards worldwide in May

David Hockney’s newest piece of art – a digital sunrise sequence – will be broadcast simultaneously on billboards worldwide in May

The two and a half minute sequence will appear at the home of CIRCA London's Piccadilly Lights, Europe's largest screen, at 8:21pm BST every evening in May

The two and a half minute sequence will appear at the home of CIRCA London’s Piccadilly Lights, Europe’s largest screen, at 8:21pm BST every evening in May

Hockney, 83, is a world renowned artist and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century

Hockney, 83, is a world renowned artist and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century

The digital show coincides with the release of Hockney’s new book ‘Spring Cannot Be Cancelled’ and the Royal Academy exhibition ‘The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020’ which is set to open on May 23. 

The exhibition is being run by CIRCA.ART, a London-based digital art platform, and Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance. 

The London-based platform are also selling a time-limited posted by David Hockney until May 31. 

Profits from the sale will be used to help support the creative community which has struggled since the onset of Covid-19 last year. The money will be put into cash grants for artists and institutions as well as used to commission new culture.  

The sequence will feature on Tokyo's Yunika Vision in Skinjuku at 9am JST every day for the month of May

The sequence will feature on Tokyo’s Yunika Vision in Skinjuku at 9am JST every day for the month of May

The piece will appear on Seoul's Coex K-POP Square screen, in the city's Gangnam district, at 8:21pm KST every evening

The piece will appear on Seoul’s Coex K-POP Square screen, in the city’s Gangnam district, at 8:21pm KST every evening

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