Having gathered a new range of models for this project from the street in front of the studio, I started to play with the drawings. I have to turn the faces sideways and hide the hands for this series and this gave a certain character the the figures that meant - when combined as couples - they create a rather particular dynamic. Turned towards each other or emphatically turned away they seem to communicate. Double portraits have a long history and often feature in 17th and 18th century portraiture. A sense of individuality remains, but an internal relationship is also created, making a triangle with the viewer of the picture as your eye moves from one figure to the other. I often place such sculptures in groups but a painting allows me to fix this relationship.

I am using a layered, built surface learnt from engraved Egyptian wall paintings. Your eye can read the separate shapes and islands of colour, or see the whole as a complete picture. The dynamic between the two readings keeps the surface moving and the brain reading. The straight lines seem to emphasise the sense of separate building blocks.

- Julian Opie, 2024

Having gathered a new range of models for this project from the street in front of the studio, I started to play with the drawings. I have to turn the faces sideways and hide the hands for this series and this gave a certain character the the figures that meant - when combined as couples - they create a rather particular dynamic. Turned towards each other or emphatically turned away they seem to communicate. Double portraits have a long history and often feature in 17th and 18th century portraiture. A sense of individuality remains, but an internal relationship is also created, making a triangle with the viewer of the picture as your eye moves from one figure to the other. I often place such sculptures in groups but a painting allows me to fix this relationship.

I am using a layered, built surface learnt from engraved Egyptian wall paintings. Your eye can read the separate shapes and islands of colour, or see the whole as a complete picture. The dynamic between the two readings keeps the surface moving and the brain reading. The straight lines seem to emphasise the sense of separate building blocks.

- Julian Opie, 2024

Having gathered a new range of models for this project from the street in front of the studio, I started to play with the drawings. I have to turn the faces sideways and hide the hands for this series and this gave a certain character the the figures that meant - when combined as couples - they create a rather particular dynamic. Turned towards each other or emphatically turned away they seem to communicate. Double portraits have a long history and often feature in 17th and 18th century portraiture. A sense of individuality remains, but an internal relationship is also created, making a triangle with the viewer of the picture as your eye moves from one figure to the other. I often place such sculptures in groups but a painting allows me to fix this relationship.

I am using a layered, built surface learnt from engraved Egyptian wall paintings. Your eye can read the separate shapes and islands of colour, or see the whole as a complete picture. The dynamic between the two readings keeps the surface moving and the brain reading. The straight lines seem to emphasise the sense of separate building blocks.

- Julian Opie, 2024

Having gathered a new range of models for this project from the street in front of the studio, I started to play with the drawings. I have to turn the faces sideways and hide the hands for this series and this gave a certain character the the figures that meant - when combined as couples - they create a rather particular dynamic. Turned towards each other or emphatically turned away they seem to communicate. Double portraits have a long history and often feature in 17th and 18th century portraiture. A sense of individuality remains, but an internal relationship is also created, making a triangle with the viewer of the picture as your eye moves from one figure to the other. I often place such sculptures in groups but a painting allows me to fix this relationship.

I am using a layered, built surface learnt from engraved Egyptian wall paintings. Your eye can read the separate shapes and islands of colour, or see the whole as a complete picture. The dynamic between the two readings keeps the surface moving and the brain reading. The straight lines seem to emphasise the sense of separate building blocks.

- Julian Opie, 2024