Self Portrait
Signed Print

Shown in a fragmented profile, the artist is recognisable from his round glasses and sweep of hair. He wears a red striped shirt and fills the composition to its edges. Outlined in light blue his jaw and mouth is set and yet softened by washes for red that mark his cheek and nose. This is the only self portrait in the series titled Home Made Prints, which is mostly made up of familiar Hockney subjects such as interiors and still lifes. But here the artist has chosen to turn his newfound technique of using a photocopier to create elaborately layered prints on himself. Recognising that this style allowed him to play with perspective he embraces Cubist elements to disturb our sense of visual order. Made in 1986 the prints from these series foreshadow the artist’s first photo collages which show a similar occupation with perspective and fragmentation of viewpoint. While famous images such as Pearblossom Highway capture many different angles of the same view, in this series we see Hockney bringing together multiple angles through multiple drawings which are then married together in a final composition.