Hockney's Swimming Pools and the River Lea

Two things that intrigue me about David Hockney's paintings are how he saturates his Yorkshire landscapes in Californian sunshine and how he represents water. Coming from Yorkshire I am struck by how his lurid coloured landscapes create a thirdspace: a space of imagination that maintains a connection to and goes beyond the places that inspire it.

On the 6th May I will be spending the afternoon under a bridge on the Lea River as part of next iteration of HOUSERULES. After holding on to an idea for a piece to make in response to the site that somehow did not quite work, I eventually let it go. I started to think instead about my recent visit to the Hockney exhibition at the Tate Britain and about his swimming pools and Yorkshire/Californian landscapes. I became interested in if and how Hockney's paintings of swimming pools could influence my thinking about the Lea River.

To join me in my exploration of Hockney's swimming pools and the River Lea visit http://houserules.co.uk/ for further details.

#Hockney #HOUSERULES #swimmingpool #canal #LeeNavigation #California #Yorksihre #RiverLea #bodiesofwater