National Science And Media Museum Reopens With Exhibition By World Renowned Bradford-Born Artist David Hockney

Image by Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima

As the National Science and Media Museum enters a new era, its inaugural temporary exhibition David Hockney: Pieced Together (from 15 January) showcases the world-renowned Bradford born artist’s pioneering use of photography and film.

The exhibition showcases Hockney’s video installation capturing Woldgate Woods in the East Riding of Yorkshire through the four seasons, with multiple screens showing a different perspective of the country lane. Alongside this immersive work, the exhibition explores the artistic and technical parallels of Hockney’s early ‘joiner’ photocollages, two of which are part of the museum’s collection. One of the joiners on display shows the museum in its early days as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in 1985, and has not been on display in 25 years. 

Known for his paintings, David Hockney has also embraced using technology to create his art. Making visual 'collages' with still and video cameras, he captures the way we see scenes in real life. These works push the boundaries of how film and photographic technologies can record images with a true-to-life sense of time, scale and perspective.

Hockney’s scepticism about photography’s capacity to deliver a true representation of perspective led him to push the boundaries of the medium, combining multiple viewpoints in a single work of art. Talking about this experimentation in the 1970s and 80s, Hockney commented: “The joiners were much closer to the way we actually look at things, closer to the truth of the experience.”

In recent decades, Hockney has embraced technology further, using video and more recently iPad to create artworks at scale, giving the viewer an immersive experience. The Four Seasons, Woldgate Woods (Spring 2011, Summer 2010, Autumn 2010, Winter 2010) mirrors the approach of the joiners, in that each film (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) is a composite of nine separate videos. Each film was originally just under an hour long, which Hockney edited down to four minutes. The presentation of the whole work across four walls surrounding the visitor creates a real sense of place.

The exhibition continues until 18 May and visitors can enjoy related screenings in Pictureville Cinema. Opening weekend will be marked with a screening of Hockney (2014), with an introduction from Kate Burnett, the exhibition’s Interpretation Developer, and A Bigger Splash (1973). The documentary weaves together contributions from Hockney and those close to him as well as exclusive footage from his personal archive, reflecting on Hockney’s formative years in the British art scene and his experience during the AIDs crisis. Pictureville will also host a specially curated Artists on Film strand to close the exhibition in May.

Commenting on the exhibition Jo Quinton-Tulloch, Director of the National Science and Media Museum said: “Reopening the museum with this remarkable exhibition feels incredibly fitting. Bradford born, world-renowned artist David Hockney has continually pushed the boundaries of art, including in his pioneering approach to photography and film. David Hockney: Pieced Together provides a unique opportunity to experience this lesser-seen side to his work, including two of his iconic joiners from the museum’s collection – on display for the first time in 25 years. One of these joiners, created by Hockney of the museum when it first opened, weaves a lovely connection between his art and the museum itself. Showcasing Hockney’s groundbreaking work through his Bradford roots makes it the perfect exhibition to begin 2025 with, marking an exciting chapter in our history.”

For more information about David Hockney: Pieced Together, please visit: www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/david-hockney-pieced-together