Nigel Ip

David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) at Lightroom is probably one of the better value immersive art experiences out there.

It works out as a beautifully informative, 50-minute documentary in which Hockney narrates the creative processes and inspirations behind his iconic works. The educational component of this is already a unique positive in a ludicrously saturated digital arts industry capitalising on famous names, past and present. This one, at least, is artist-led.

While the majority of such ventures just feel tacky in the flesh, this one mesmerises and captivates you with Hockney’s stories and way of thinking about the world. It’s not just flashy pictures repeating in a neverending sequence; it’s a personal journey.

I’m not the greatest Hockney fan, but this experience reinvigorated why I like some aspects of his work so much since discovering his work in a Royal Academy of Arts retrospective. His embracement of new technologies is also an admirable quality that I don’t usually see in elder artists. This is very much an extension of that, and his large-scale artworks lead themselves very naturally to this kind of presentation.

I like it. And I’m very happy to recommend it to anyone that wants some low-maintenance cultural learning.

David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) runs until 3 December at Lightroom, 12 Lewis Cubitt Square, London, N1C 4DY, https://lightroom.uk/