Julian OpieYour are driving a Volvo 1996

You are driving a Volvo. is one of five life-sized car sculptures Opie produced in 1996. These are stylised models of cars constructed from flat panels of plywood coated with thick, oil-based gloss paint. Blocks of tonally different paint colours on the car body create the optical illusion of the normal contours on the sides of a car. The windows are painted flat, light grey, giving the impression of allowing light to penetrate but in fact revealing nothing of the car’s interior. Tyres, lights, bumpers, door handles and other trimming details are represented in monotone blocks of realistically coloured paint. Number plates are indicated but bear no numbers. Tate’s car sculpture represents a Volvo 440. It is white… (read more)