Julian Opie

Over the course of the last 25 years the British artist Julian Opie has communicated a unique vision of humanity, largely via appropriation of the various representations which help us all to traverse the modern world – those ubiquitous faceless matchstick figures that adorn everything from lavatory doors to emergency exits. It’s a precise and graphic artistic language of reduction that has often led to him being misunderstood as an artist primarily interested in communicating a sense of modern alienation and human disconnection. This, however is a gross misreading of Opie’s intent. In fact, his work has presented us all with a neutral, pared-down and instantly recognisable evocation of humanity and the modern world, into which we are invited to feed our own psychological interpretations, thoughts and feelings