Voices Footsteps Telephone
Voices Footsteps Telephone
Signed Mixed Media
Julian Opie
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76 x 112cm, Edition of 40, Mixed Media
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Meaning & Analysis
This print from Julian Opie’s Eight Landscapes series called Voices Footsteps Telephone, shows an image of a sterile interior resembling a hospital, devoid of any human presence. Each image in the Eight Landscapes series was mounted with sound systems, playing the sounds described by the title or digital LED panels displaying the words of the title one by one.
Voices Footsteps Telephone is one of Opie’s more unusual prints, showing a scene with very little context as to where this interior could be but simultaneously provokes a feeling of familiarity within the viewer. The sounds described in the print’s title allude to waiting in A&E in a hospital, yet the scene shows no sign of these sounds, instead showing a slick and depersonalised image of an eerily empty and plain interior. The uncanny nature of the print is created through Opie’s use of simplified form, graphic straight lines and dramatic vanishing point, with the image’s focal point being the strip of lights on the ceiling.
In simplifying Voices Footsteps Telephone from the original photograph, Opie both draws from his personal experience but depersonalises the image to allow the viewer to create their own unique interpretation. Much of Opie’s work has been compared to the digitally rendered landscapes of video games in the way that they mimic a simultaneously familiar yet otherworldly scene.
Julian Opie, born in 1958, dances through the contemporary art scene with a distinctive digital allure. A trailblazer of the 1980s New British Sculpture movement, Opie's work is a highly stylised blend of Pop Art and minimalism which navigates the intersection of technology and visual expression. From his early experiments with computer-generated art to his iconic portraits and animated installations, Opie's work exudes a captivating simplicity. His signature style, marked by bold lines and reduced forms, is internationally recognisable and has made him a key player in British contemporary art.
