Palindrome

Richard Hamilton British

Not on view

In this optically complex self-portrait, Hamilton re-creates the illusion of touching the surface of a mirror, which results in the simultaneous views of the back of his extended hand and arm and the front of his face and body. Palindrome—derived from the Greek words for “fast” (palin) and “return” or “rebound” (dromos)—applies to words, numbers, or phrases that read the same backward or forward (for example, “eye”) and to photons bouncing off a reflective surface. Created especially for the group portfolio Mirrors of the Mind, published by Marian Goodman and Multiples Inc., New York, Palindrome gave the artist the impetus to try a new technology—lenticular, laminated, three-dimensional printing.

Palindrome, Richard Hamilton (British, London 1922–2011 Oxfordshire), Lenticular acrylic laminated on color collotype with pasted paper sticker

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