Seeing the world through David Hockney’s eyes

There are people who look at the world, and then there are people who really see it. David Hockney belonged firmly in the latter camp. And now you can see through his eyes.

The celebrated British artist spent his life finding extraordinary beauty in ordinary things – sunlight falling across a tablecloth, the curves of a winding road, the brilliant blue of a Los Angeles swimming pool.

And now, visitors to Sydney’s Carriageworks can experience the world through his eyes in David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (Not smaller and further away), a spectacular immersive exhibition that brings his art, memories and creative process to life.

Before visiting, I spoke with Richard Slaney, CEO of Lightroom, the company behind the exhibition, about the remarkable experience of working with Hockney.

Lightroom creates immersive exhibitions that combine the scale of cinema, the spectacle of theatre and the intimacy of storytelling, allowing audiences to step inside the creative worlds of extraordinary artists.

The idea that created the David Hockney exhibition

The idea for Hockney’s exhibition began in 2020, when the pandemic had brought much of the world to a standstill.

“I just emailed him and said, ‘I have this idea’,” Richard recalls. “And he liked it.”

That simple email led to three years of close collaboration, culminating in the exhibition’s premiere at Lightroom in London’s King’s Cross in 2023.

Sadly, Hockney passed away in June 2026, aged 88, before he could see the exhibition come to Sydney.

“The idea was always to cover living artists, so you feel as though you are there with them,” Richard explains. “What many people don’t know is that David was a multimedia artist, and a photographer, not just a painter, and this exhibition brings that to life.”

Working alongside Hockney also revealed the extraordinary dedication behind his creativity.

“His relentless attention to detail and process is what made him so different. He would go over and over things again and again, and he was always generous, and not protective of his time.”

But perhaps the most fascinating thing about Hockney was his ability to find wonder in the everyday things around him. Things many of us miss as we rush about living life.

“David was obsessed with looking at the world, and wanting others to look at the world,” Richard says. “His big theory, if you like, was that most people don’t look at everything in the world, and that there is incredible beauty right in front of us, every day.”

Richard remembers having lunch with Hockney and friends in a French bistro, surrounded by checked tablecloths and thick drinking glasses.

While others chatted, Hockney became fascinated by the way sunlight streamed through the window, refracting through the glasses and changing the shapes and lines of the tablecloth.

“He sat there and marvelled at the cloth, the glasses, the way the light came through the window,” Richard recalls. “He said:  ‘Look at that, those lines don’t line up, look this way.’ And he’d say, ‘How can anyone in the world be bored when there is so much to look at?'”

That sense of wonder is at the heart of the exhibition. As Richard puts it, hearing Hockney’s own voice throughout the experience is “like having a favourite uncle take you around a gallery or studio”, revealing not only his art but an entirely different way of seeing the world.

And that’s exactly how it feels….

Experiencing the show in Sydney

Stepping through a dark corridor at Carriageworks, I climbed a staircase to a viewing deck overlooking an enormous room, its four walls alive with moving images.

There was Hockney, his distinctive hair fluttering in the wind, riding in a convertible with friends through California’s Santa Monica Mountains.

He was talking about the contrast between the straight lines and grids of Los Angeles and the winding curves of the mountains, where the light seemed to transform everything.

I made my way downstairs and settled onto a padded seat, surrounded by Hockney’s world, and for the next hour, it felt as though I had stepped inside his imagination.

His paintings unfolded across the walls. Photographs became enormous montages that morphed into landscapes. Sketches and handwritten notes revealed the workings of his creative mind. His theatrical designs danced around the room to sweeping orchestral music that made it feel like the building was shaking.

I watched him paint, listened to his thoughts and saw familiar images transformed into something entirely new. It was unlike anything I had experienced.

And through it all, one message shone as brightly as the California skies and swimming pools Hockney loved: look at the world around you. Really look. There is beauty everywhere, if only we take the time to notice it.

The exhibition runs on a continuous loop, lasting just under an hour, but visitors can stay as long as they like. And it’s tempting to do exactly that, because there’s so much to absorb.

Richard says Hockney’s generosity extended well beyond the exhibition itself. He introduced friends and fellow creatives to Lightroom, helping open doors to other extraordinary collaborations. The company has since explored creative worlds ranging from fashion and music to film, science and space, working on projects involving famous figures such as fashion icon Anna Wintour and actor Tom Hanks, who has a passion for the moon.

“He was just like that – always so generous,” Richard says of Hockney. “And one thing would lead to another. He was open and shared with everyone.”

As I emerged from the darkness of Carriageworks into the brilliant Sydney sunshine, I found myself remembering another moment from the exhibition. Hockney had painted what it looked like for him, driving through a dark tunnel in France, with no car ahead to obstruct his view. He said: it was his perspective alone.

When he emerged, the world was covered in snow, and he was captivated by its beauty.

Standing in the Sydney sunshine, I understood a little more of what he meant. The world around me hadn’t suddenly changed. But after spending an hour seeing it through David Hockney’s eyes, perhaps the way I looked at it had. That’s the real magic of David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (Not smaller and further away). You don’t simply leave having seen extraordinary art. You leave wanting to look at everything a little more closely, and that’s enough to somehow feel lighter and brighter.

David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (Not smaller and further away) is showing at Carriageworks, Sydney, from 22 October 2026 to 24 January 2027. You can book tickets HERE