Name: Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Rio/Helmet
Brand: Julian Opie
Rating: 5 (236 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Julian Opie's Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Rio/Helmet (signed) is estimated to be worth between £2,700 and £4,050. This digital print artwork, created in 2002, has shown consistent value growth since its first sale in June 2017. In the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £2,165 in October 2023 to £7,560 in July 2022. The current average annual growth rate is 9%. This work is part of a limited edition of 50.

Meaning & Analysis

Julian Opie’s Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Rio/Helmet is part of a series of prints from 2002 that invite the viewer into a simulated world of Formula One race driving. On the left hand side of the composition Opie depicts an empty expanse of tarmac disappearing into the distance and devoid of all human presence. The right hand side of the print shows a portrait of a Formula One driver Rio Haryanto, indicating who’s view of the road we are seeing.

Rendered in Opie’s bold, linear style with block colour, the portrait of the driver hints to real-world advertisements and brands with the Honda logo and reflection of the Lucky Strike logo in the helmet. Much of Opie’s work directly relates to advertising and street signage of the contemporary world through his reductive visual language and use of saturated colour. Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Rio/Helmet takes this idea further by appropriating brand logos as part of the image.

Much like contemporary video games that simulate race driving, Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Rio/Helmet strikes the balance between the real and the imagined where the viewer can make their own virtual journey. Opie’s highly stylised landscape that is largely featureless is juxtaposed with the portrait of a driver and inclusion of brand logos that inject a human presence into the print.

Julian Opie, born in 1958, dances through the contemporary art scene with a distinctive digital allure. A trailblazer of the 1980s New British Sculpture movement, Opie's work is a highly stylised blend of Pop Art and minimalism which navigates the intersection of technology and visual expression. From his early experiments with computer-generated art to his iconic portraits and animated installations, Opie's work exudes a captivating simplicity. His signature style, marked by bold lines and reduced forms, is internationally recognisable and has made him a key player in British contemporary art.