As an artist I don’t work with words but with images and materials. Works are conceived in parallel or in series or even in reaction to previous works. I don’t do what I want, I do what I can. At any one time only a few moves seem possible, and the following results are largely unknown when I start. This last year I have undertaken two parallel projects. Opposites in some ways. Walking children and sprinting athletes. Both very human and evocative but also for most people looking at art, quite distant even exotic. A step away from the dancers I drew last year and the pedestrians walking on the city streets of the previous years.
Warhol said, “if you have to make a decision, something is wrong.” In other words, each move is predicated by the previous step and has a logic that is clear and readable. Children walk in line in the playground in one direction. Sprinters run around a track. Men run separately from women and of course all run in the same direction. Colours of sprinters could be contrasting team colours to differentiate what are very similarly dressed people. I get on the train of a new project and ride, observing and experimenting and testing. I always look to the world for my clues and answers. I use LED public signage screens as an obvious, universal and in some ways magical language that allows movement. I draw using a thick line that delineates the human form based on hieroglyphs, road signs, writing and symbols allowing fast reading and a sense of normality and an un-authored neutrality. An ambiguous relationship between the oppressive language of authority and the inner dream like vision of individuals.
I don’t aim to spell out a literal meaning, as in a loop stands for infinity and a runner represents an ideal human endeavour. I play, balance and experiment like a chef might do in the kitchen.
A child is cute - large scale is impressive but intimidating - colour is appealing - movement is mesmerising - competition is engaging - generalisation is alienating but easy to read. These are the qualities that I play with.
In some ways my aim is to outsmart myself. To spin so fast I see my own reflection looking away. I mistrust my conclusions but trust my observations.
I recently went to Easter Island. A wonderful experience and in particular a powerful reminder of how art relates to its surroundings. One of the famous Moai Easter Island statues in a museum is impressive, but standing in rows on a high altar against the azure Pacific Ocean is stunning. It’s the perfect combination of human and nature speaking of hope and fear, time and beauty. So, when I am asked to make an installation, I don’t see it as an opportunity to show existing work. I see it as the beginning of a conversation between a space and what I am engaged in at the studio. It has to be flexible of course, as works move from one space to another, but I try to get each installation to make as much use of the given environment as possible. A low ceilinged and carpeted gallery is usually unappealing but for some projects it’s perfect if you can think of the right solution.
This atrium was a challenge, and I went though many ideas in my mind and then in VR simulation. There are many technical restrictions and challenges but also some special, positive qualities. You can see the work from various levels and all sides which is unusual. The space feels like it is outdoors but is actually indoors. It’s very busy visually with shop signs and crowds.
I wanted to speak back to these qualities, make use of them. Eventually by trial and error I came to this solution which suddenly seemed to sing. Decision followed decision in easy steps. Square like the building, not circular. Image on outside of box as well as inside. Colours differentiating the similar runners. Their different speeds creating an endless race around the atrium.
References to an ancient classical frieze of sprinting athletes and Neolithic petroglyphs of running hunters. Ticker-tape text on LED information boards or chasing safety lights at roadworks on a nighttime motorway.
Of course, other solutions could perhaps work but usually there is a moment, after much testing and error, when things seem to fall in place and, when I saw this solution in our VR mock up, I knew it was right. I wanted to see it from all angles and show it to other people.
It adds up to more than its parts. Something happens beyond what you might expect from the basic ingredients - it’s that little gap that is everything really, the unpredictable zone beyond preconception.
Julian Opie, 2025
©Julian Opie
©Julian Opie
©Julian Opie
©Julian Opie
©Julian Opie
A new installation, “Marathon. Women.” by leading British contemporary artist Julian Opie, now appears in the central atrium. This LED film features female runners as its motif, and was originally inspired by British female sprinters. Colours differentiate the seven runners and their different speeds create an endless race across the airborne rectangular screen. Displayed on both sides of the suspended screens, the animated runners can be viewed from various vantage points across four levels—from the second to the fifth floor.
The primal human act of running reverberates throughout the space, generating a powerful sense of motion and immersive energy.