Lightroom, the immersive art venue in London’s King’s Cross, is to present special showings of David Hockney’s Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) on the evening of July 9, marking what would have been the late artist’s 89th birthday. Proceeds from the event will go to the Royal Drawing School, a charity supported by Hockney during his lifetime.
As usual, Lightroom will deploy 28 Panasonic laser projectors alongside two HOLOPLOT X1 Matrix Array units for spatial audio – the same model used at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Harry Parker, director of the Royal Drawing School, added: “We are deeply grateful to Lightroom, David Hockney’s family and Studio for this wonderfully generous tribute. David Hockney was an unwavering champion of the Royal Drawing School from its earliest days and believed profoundly that drawing is fundamental to the way artists learn to see, think and make.”
Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) is narrated entirely by Hockney and features a specially composed score by Nico Muhly across six themed chapters. The show explores Hockney’s experiments with perspective and new media, from his polaroid collages to work made on his iPad, alongside animated recreations of his opera stage designs.
The show opened in February 2023 following three years of collaboration between Hockney and Lightroom and was directed, written and designed by 59, a Journey studio. It was the first of Lightroom’s series of original, artist-led shows and has welcomed more than 650,000 guests since launch.
The special showings take place on Thursday, July 9, from 7pm, with tickets priced at £25 and proceeds going to the Royal Drawing School.
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