David Hockney: A Year in Normandie

When it was announced that David Hockney had died, I, probably like many people, looked at where I could see some of his work. I found this exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery. As we were going to be in London in the evening to meet friends, I travelled up earlier and spent the afternoon in Hyde Park, which gave me the chance to visit the Serpentine North.

I’d never visited this gallery before. The main work is a large frieze made on an iPad, depicting a year in the Normandy landscape across all four seasons.

I’d never seen Hockney’s iPad work presented in an analogue format before. Some panels I loved, some left me unmoved. What I did notice was the absence of wildlife - no birds, insects or mammals that I could spot anywhere in the landscape. My covid years felt more full of creatures than this.

I enjoyed it. I’m not sure it would have been worth the time and cost of a train ticket on its own, but paired with a good walk and a picnic with friends in the park, it was a no-brainer.