JULIAN OPIE, THIS IS SHAHNOZA 4, THIS IS SHAHNOZA SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 40, 2006
This Is Shahnoza 4 is a screen print from Julian Opie’s This Is Shahnoza series from 2006. The print shows a landscape composition, featuring a female model in a series of provocative poses to produce the effect of movement. The figure is rendered in Opie’s trademark visual language, with thick, bold outlines and a blank circular head.
The series was originally used as a wall drawing for the museum in a room of Henry Moore sculptures, mostly of reclining nudes. For Opie, the use of a pole in this print allowed him to create a more dynamic image full of movement and dramatic poses, without the constraints of objects that might form a contextual backdrop. The model leans against and hangs from the pole in order to show her body in a variety of angles and positions that are dynamic and convey personality.
Opie’s This Is Shahnoza series is an example of the artist’s working process that is far more arduous than the print itself reveals. In order to create the series of images, Opie worked with the professional pole dancer for two days, taking over 1,000 photographs each day, simultaneously using two video cameras to capture her movements in real time. Opie then refines what he is going to draw and produces a variety of images through computer-drawing techniques.
Read more about This Is Shahnoza by Julian Opie.
ABOUT JULIAN OPIE
British artist Julian Opie challenges traditional approaches to portraiture through his digitally designed and seemingly contradictory, depersonalised works. Working also with landscapes and cityscapes, Opie’s highly stylised work involves the reduction of photographs or short films into figurative reproductions created using computer software. The hallmarks of his artistic style are portraits and animated walking figures, rendered with minimal detail in black line drawing. Learn more about Julian Opie.
