Created in 2021, Remember You Cannot Look at the Sun or Death for Very Long captures David Hockney’s enduring fascination with light, nature and the simple act of looking.
Originally conceived as an animated sunrise for CIRCA, the work was drawn on Hockney’s iPad from his studio in Normandy and broadcast throughout May 2021 across enormous public screens in London, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul and Tokyo.
The animation begins quietly, with dawn breaking over a dark landscape. As the sun climbs, Hockney’s characteristically loose rays stretch further across the scene until brilliant yellow consumes the image and the words Remember You Cannot Look at the Sun or Death for Very Long appear. Lasting less than ninety seconds, it turned one of nature’s most familiar events into a moment of spectacle on some of the busiest advertising screens in the world.
Its timing gave the work particular significance. Appearing as cities around the world began emerging from COVID-19 restrictions, Hockney's sunrise inevitably became associated with renewal and the possibility of a new beginning. Yet the title introduces something more contemplative.
There is also something quintessentially Hockney about choosing a sunrise. Throughout his career, he has encouraged us to pay greater attention to the world immediately around us. Speaking about the CIRCA project, Hockney said that we must take time to see the world's beauty - precisely the kind of heightened observation that has underpinned his landscapes and his experimentation with new technologies.
The accompanying limited-edition work translates the digital commission into a physical object. Published by CIRCA in London, it measures approximately 89 × 25 cm and combines colour lithography with a vivid yellow screenprint overlay on smooth wove paper. The numbered edition of 3,000 retains the unusually long, panoramic proportions of the original public-screen presentation.
Ultimately, Remember You Cannot Look at the Sun or Death for Very Long is deceptively simple. A sun rises, another day begins. But through Hockney's eyes, that everyday occurrence becomes a reminder to notice the beauty in front of us while we can.