Julian Opie, Esther., 2025

Julian Opie has generously produced Esther., 2025, one of two lenticular editions, especially for Tate.

The two editions, Esther., 2025, and Keyush., 2025, are part of a new body of work by Opie depicting school children. They are among the first of his walking portrait works to depict children, marking a new development in his practice. Opie worked with a primary school to capture children from each year group, up to Year 4, walking on film. ‘I found the best method was to walk with them one by one across the school stage while my assistant filmed from the other end of the school hall. We chatted as we went and then they ran around, letting off steam, to join the queue at the start. They were amazingly engaged and present,’ says Opie. The film was meticulously translated into animation to create continuous walking portraits. The portraits share the declarative linearity and flatness of his work in general – the children’s faces and clothes are neutral, but variations in hairstyle, height, clothing and walking style differentiate them. The works follow a scheme, yet each figure holds their individuality.

Opie has been using the medium of lenticular prints to create limited edition artworks, often depicting figures walking or dancing, since 2004. To Opie, the lenticular encapsulates the magic of the everyday. Like flip-books or zoetropes, lenticular prints fool the eye into seeing an animated image through movement. ‘…we perceive movement naturally as a series of still images’ says Opie. ‘Our view of the world is a built illusion, a mental construct, so seeing the illusion taken apart and recreated is a relief, is funny, is thrilling.’

Each edition is signed and numbered by the artist on a bespoke label on the back of the frame. Prices of the artwork are liable to change. As a limited edition sells out, prices of the artwork are subject to increase and the price will be clearly indicated.

About the artist

Julian Opie (b. 1958, London, UK) plays with ways of seeing through reinterpreting the vocabulary of everyday life. Drawing influence from classical portraiture, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Japanese woodblock prints, as well as public signage, information boards and traffic signs, Opie connects the clean visual language of modern life with the fundamentals of art history. His works have been realised in a variety of media including sculpture, silkscreen, vinyl, LCD, LED, and lenticular, pushing the boundaries of 'traditional' artistic practice.

Opie has presented recent solo exhibitions at La Llotja, Palma (2024); Galleri F15, Norway (2023); Mango Museum, Changsha, China (2023); He Art Museum, Shenzen, China (2022); Berardo Museum, Lisbon, Portugal (2020), and Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Japan (2019) and National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne (2017). Public projects include Sculpture in the City, London (2024/5), Porte de Clichy Metro Station, Paris (2024); World Trade Centre Lisbon (2022); City of Melbourne, Australia (2020); Pacific Place, Hong Kong (2020); Fosun Foundation, Shanghai (2019), Carnaby Street London (2016), Regent’s Place London (2012).

His design for the band Blur’s album ‘Best of Blur’ (2000) was awarded the Music Week CADS for Best Illustration in 2001. His work can be found in collections worldwide including Tate, London; British Museum, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; National Portrait Gallery, London; Essl Collection, Vienna; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Takamatsu City Museum of Art, Japan; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Institute of Contemporary Arts, Boston. He lives and works in London, UK.

• Artist Julian Opie
• Artwork Esther.
• Dimensions Image dimensions: 80.0 x 49.0 cm, Framed dimensions: 81.9 x 50.8 cm
• Material Lenticular acrylic panel in a brushed aluminium frame specified by the artist
• Edition Limited edition of 50, signed and numbered on a bespoke label on the back of the frame
• Date of work 2025