Indian View L

Indian View L, the last of Hodgkin’s Indian View series, is perhaps as literal and representational as Hodgkin gets in this body of prints. Here, the uneven black frame – highly unusual in Hodgkin’s production – encapsulates a quaint image of a beach, painted through warm patches of colour and a blue line. The image recalls in format a travel postcard. Hodgkin created the print in the early 1970s following one of his many trips to India. Through these images, the artist aimed to recreate on paper the sights he had glimpsed during his train rides, together with the feelings and emotions he had then felt. Through carefully-devised arrangements of colour, Hodgkin re-presents on paper his memories and recollections, allowing viewers to immerse themselves into his travels. As John McEwen stated, “Hodgkin may often be en voyage, but not as a beholder. In place of a beholder, there is a rememberer.”