David Hockney began experimenting with a new method of image-making in 1986, through the use of a colour photocopier, transforming what was traditionally considered an office machine into an artistic medium. Fascinated by both the possibilities and restrictions of the copier, Hockney embraced the machine’s limited workable sheet size and restricted colour palette of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
Rather than creating a single completed image, Hockney produced separate drawings for each colour component before photocopying and layering them together into one final composition. This process closely parallels traditional multi-layer printmaking techniques such as screenprinting, woodcut, and linocut. However, by using a photocopier rather than a printing press, Hockney modernised and simplified the process and granted himself a significant degree of artistic independence. He was able to create limited-edition “home-made prints” without relying on a professional printer, studio, or traditional press.
As Hockney stated in David Hockney by Marco Livingstone:
“New technologies have started revolutions that need not frighten us, they can be humanized by artists. The office copier has opened up commercial printing as a direct artist’s medium.”
Still Life with Curtains is a particularly strong example of Hockney’s home-made prints. The photocopying process generates brilliant reds, greens, and blues while simultaneously preserving the rich, expressive texture of crayon and hand-drawn mark-making. The composition presents an engaging interior still life dominated by two voluptuous red curtains framing a square table, upon which sits a blue vase overflowing with green foliage and a single black flower.
Hockney deliberately manipulates perspective within the composition. The experimentation harks back to his ambitious 1984 Moving Focus series, here Hockney accommodates multiple viewpoints within a single image. The flattened table surface appears to tilt forward toward the viewer, while the curtains function both as framing devices and spatial barriers. This interaction between foreground and background creates a dynamic tension within the image, with the foliage visibly spilling over the ink of the enclosing curtains. The result is a composition that feels simultaneously decorative and theatrical, reflecting Hockney’s continual interest in perception, stage design, and the construction of pictorial space.
Ultimately, Still Life with Curtains represents a pivotal moment within Hockney’s artistic practice, where traditional draftsmanship and emerging technology intersect. Through his inventive use of the photocopier, Hockney redefined the possibilities of printmaking and demonstrated how contemporary technology could become an expressive artistic tool.
