David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)

David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) ★★★★★ “Utterly beguiling…A breathtaking triumph” – The Independent ★★★★ “Magical” – The Observer ★★★★ – The Times Step into the vibrant world of David Hockney , one of the most celebrated artists of our time, with Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) , a breathtaking immersive experience by Lightroom London , presented by Carriageworks and Andrew Kay & Associates with Lexus . Having captivated audiences in London, Manchester, Seoul and Singapore, this highly acclaimed work arrives in Sydney for its Australian debut, bringing Hockney’s extraordinary body of work to life on unprecedented scale. Narrated by Hockney himself, Bigger & Closer takes us on a personal journey through sixty years of his artistic practice, offering a rare and fascinating insight into the imagination of one of the most influential and defining contemporary artists of the 20th century. Featuring state-of-the-art projections and a specially composed score by Nico Muhly , this monumental 360° production guides you through Hockney’s work, from the iconic to lesser-seen masterpieces, and new works created especially for this project. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the world through Hockney’s eyes, immerse yourself in his life and art, and celebrate his extraordinary legacy. Photo by Justin Sutcliffe © David Hockney BUY TICKETS BUY VIP ANYTIME PASS David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) | Carriageworks - YouTube Tap to unmute David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) | Carriageworks Carriageworks 1.92K subscribers Watch on From 22 Oct 2026 Mon-Thu 10am-5pm Fri-Sat 9am-7:30pm Sun 9am-4pm Tickets from $34.90 General Admission From $34.90 VIP Anytime Pass $64.90 a $5 booking fee applies to all transactions. **includes priority entry to any session on the day marked on the ticket and an exclusive souvenir laminate lanyard Event Information Bay 17 For a quieter visit, book after 1pm. Allow 50–70 minutes for your exhibition experience. Please arrive 5–10 minutes before your scheduled entry time. Late arrivals may experience a delay in entry and admission cannot be guaranteed. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Read FAQs here . About David Hockney David Hockney OM CH RA (b. 9 July 1937, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK – d. 11 June 2026, London) is considered one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art. His seven-decade career and prolific oeuvre was characterized by his multi-media approach in image making, an intellectual inquiry into the nature of depiction and perspective, and a sustained commitment to celebrating and portraying the world around him. Hockney’s formal training began at the Bradford School of Art (1953–57), followed by the Royal College of Art in London (1959–62), where he graduated with Gold Medal distinction and subsequently emerged as one of the seminal talents in the new generation of British artists. The 1960s marked a pivotal shift in the development of Hockney’s distinctive artistic style as he moved away from early experiments with abstract expressionism toward figuration and linear mark making, two approaches very unfashionable at the time. Following his move from London to Los Angeles in 1964, he began to document the city’s seductive charm from the perspective of an outsider. This new environment inspired his iconic renderings of the Southern Californian lifestyle, including Beverly Hills Housewife (1966) as well as his celebrated swimming pool series, most notably A Bigger Splash (1967), both widely acclaimed as canonical works. His subject matter at the time frequently explored themes of intimacy, leading to large-scale double portraits such as Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (1968) and Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy , (1971). Photography became an important preparatory tool in these works and in paintings such as Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), though Hockney later came to feel that this approach was too reliant on photorealism. He did not use photography for portraits since. The mid-1960s also marked the start of Hockney’s enduring contributions to opera and theatre design. His comprehensive stage designs often involved intense periods of concentration, sometimes extending a year or more on a single production. Beginning with Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi (1966) for London’s Royal Court Theatre, Hockney went on to create a series of landmark productions, including the iconic staging of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (1975) for Glyndebourne, and Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot (1990) for LA Opera. Many of his designs, spanning ten opera and ballet productions – are regarded as the definitive visual interpretation of the works and continue to be presented decades after their premieres. Hockney’s interest in theatrical space evolved into a broader engagement with figurative abstraction and art historical references, exemplified by his initial use of ‘reverse perspective’ as a pictorial device in Kerby (After Hogarth) Useful Knowledge , 1975. Hockney’s intellectual curiosity and desire to investigate perception and depiction initiated a long and exploratory relationship with photography and perspective. The 1980s heralded a deep experimentation with photography as Hockney pioneered his photographic collages, employing a Cubist language that combined multiple viewpoints to create two-dimensional images, suggesting the passage of time and challenging the fixed-point perspective inherent to the camera lens and the observer in Western art ( Pearblossom Hwy., 11–18th April 1986 ). From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, Hockney devoted a significant part of his practice to investigating the techniques and working methods of Western artists from the fifteenth century onward, with particular attention to their use of optical devices. Approaching the subject not only as a researcher but as one of the most accomplished draftsmen of his generation, Hockney brought an artist’s understanding of drawing, perspective, light, and image-making to the study of historical works. This practical knowledge enabled him to identify visual evidence that he believed had often been overlooked within conventional art-historical scholarship. Central to Hockney’s argument was the idea that many artists had employed camera obscuras, concave mirrors, lenses, and, later on, camera lucidas, as optical aids to project images onto a surface, allowing them to trace or closely follow contours and tonal effects. He argued that the ability to capture photographic likeness through light and shadow existed centuries before the chemical invention of photography in 1839 (often confused as the invention of the camera). Hockney also observed that convincing cast shadows and highly naturalistic modelling began to appear in Western painting around the 1420s, suggesting a significant shift in how artists represented space, light, and visual reality. He was one of the first people to point out there had never been any shadows or reflections outside of Western Art prior to 1420. These investigations culminated in Secret Knowledge (2001), otherwise known as the Hockney/Falco Thesis, in which Hockney and Charles Falco, a professor of optical science, presented a comprehensive theory regarding the use of optical aids by the Old Masters. The book established Hockney as an important contributor to debates in art history and the history of technology. It was initially met with strong scepticism by most established art historians and curators, who implied lack of evidence and that Hockney was suggesting the Old Masters ‘cheated.’ However, the thesis has since been examined, tested, and further developed by a younger generation of scholars, sustaining discussion about the role of optics in the development of Western art and agreeing with Hockney’s comment, “Brunelleschi didn’t invent perspective, he just discovered there was a law of optics.” In the early 2000s, Hockney’s return to Yorkshire prompted a renewed engagement with the landscapes of his native country, portrayed in the intensive Midsummer: East Yorkshire watercolour series (2004) and ambitious, multi-canvas oil paintings, most notably Bigger Trees near Warter (2007). The emergence of digital technologies, specifically the iPhone and iPad, became central to Hockney’s practice from 2007 onward. He embraced these tools for immediacy and plein airdrawing, resulting in the vast series The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven). In 2013, he moved back to Los Angeles following personal tragedy, which triggered the start of the 82 portraits and 1 Still Life series and numerous new works. In 2017, he was honoured to be invited by the Dean of Westminster Abbey to produce the stained-glass Queen’s Window in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, which was unveiled in October 2018. In 2019, Hockney started working at his partner’s house and new studio in Normandy and rediscovered the lush landscape and four seasons after years in LA, producing ink drawings, paintings, and numerous iPad paintings, including his iPad frieze A Year In Normandie (2020–2021), the ninety-metre-long panoramic iPad painting, inspired by the nearby Bayeux Tapestry and his long-time fascination with Chinese scrolls, further demonstrating his commitment to pushing the expressive possibilities of digital media while remaining deeply engaged with the traditions of landscape painting. After relocating to London in 2023, his legacy was celebrated by major international shows, including the pioneering 360-degree immersive projection film Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) at London’s Lightroom (2023), which continues to travel worldwide, Normandism at the Musée des Beaux-Arts Rouen (2024), where the Moon Room iPad drawings were first featured, and culminating in the monumental David Hockney 25 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris (2025). On his return from the Paris exhibition, he straight away returned to painting, with vigour, producing two new shows in London: Some Very, Very, Very New Paintings Not Yet Shown in Paris in November 2025 at Annely Juda Fine Art; then a show of A Year in Normandie and ten new works at Serpentine North Gallery, (on view through the end of August). These shows revealed the most developed stage yet of Hockney’s exploration of ‘reverse perspective’ as a pictorial device. Future exhibitions at Tate, London and the Munch Museum, Oslo, amongst others, are in development. Amongst the many honours bestowed upon him over the course of his seven-decade career, he was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1997 and to the Order of Merit in 2012. In 2026, Hockney became one of the few non-French citizens to be awarded the rank of Officier in France’s prestigious Légion d’Honneur, granted through exceptional merit and in recognition of his profound contributions to the country through his work. From traditional media such as drawing, painting, printmaking, set design, and photography to evolving media including photocopier and fax machines, computer, iPhone and iPad drawing, and stained glass, Hockney synthesized exceptional draftsmanship with keen observation, a sophisticated understanding of art history coupled with an embrace of modern technology. These extensive explorations later influenced the expression he adopted, ‘the hand, the eye, and the heart’, rooted in an ancient Chinese proverb to articulate the sentiment that painting requires the integration of all three components, firmly believing that ‘two won’t do.’ Hockney was also a committed life-long and defiant smoker, expressing the pleasure in life it brought him. He campaigned against anti-smoking laws and health ‘bossiness,’ and was an avid defender of individual freedom. He smoked up to the end. He is survived by his long-time partner and companion Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, his great-nephew Richard who acted as studio assistant in his last years, his brothers Philip and John, and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. David Hockney’s enduring legacy reflects his underlying enthusiasm for life, his outstanding sense of humour, his immense generosity, and his investigative curiosity encapsulated by his signature phrase, “Love Life.” About Lightroom A unique immersive canvas for the world’s greatest creative minds. Lightroom’s unique, artist-first approach allows creative work of all disciplines to be seen in a new light: offering artists and performers a new way to tell their stories; and audiences a new way to engage with creative work, whether they are a lifelong fan or discovering something for the very first time. Through groundbreaking collaborations with leading artistic talents across art, music, film, fashion, science, and more, Lightroom has redefined what immersive experiences can look like. Credits Created by David Hockney & Lightroom Designed by 59 Studio Written & directed by Mark Grimmer David Hockney Studio JP Gonçalves de Lima Jonathan Wilkinson Shannan Kelly The staff at David Hockney, Inc., Los Angeles Original music composed by Nico Muhly Executive Producers Richard Slaney Nicholas Hytner Nick Starr Production Team Production Direction Mark Grimmer Video Designer Nick Corrigan Associate Video Designer Felix Green Associate Producer Anna Jones Designers Dale Croft Matt Taylor Assistant Designers Ash Kayser Simran Phull Lorna Pittaway Lighting Designer Ben Pearcy Animators Lawrence Watson Edd Stockton Jarek Radecki Emily Howells Nick Corrigan Felix Green Music Editor Philip Adams Sound Designer Gareth Fry Video Programmer Liam Daly Editors Nick Corrigan Felix Green Assistant Editor Kate Mogridge Accessibility Please let us know of any accessibility requirements by contacting us via email boxoffice@carriageworks.com.au Clic