I dreamt I was driving my car. (village)

Julian Opie is a pop artist from the group yBa (Young British Artists), which spearheaded the revival of contemporary British art. Known for designing the album cover for the Britpop band Blur, Opie creates iconic pop art by simplifying images of people, landscapes, cities, and stills from short films into bold black outlines and vivid colors. Using techniques like drawing and computer processing, he translates these images into various media, including canvas, LED displays, LCD screens, and sculptures.

Before focusing on his well-known subjects such as people and animals, Opie began exploring minimalist landscapes in 1997. These works highlight the striking contrast between natural environments and artificial elements. He often depicted empty roads, beaches, or fields, as seen in I dreamt I was driving my car. (village). This work portrays the scenery of a village as viewed from a moving car. By omitting perspective and emphasizing flatness with simple lines and subdued colors, it evokes a strangely unfamiliar sensation. In these landscape works, which lack his signature bold outlines and vibrant hues, Opie appears to replicate specific locations. Yet, by stripping away defining details, he reduces the images to mere representations of landscapes, focusing solely on their essence.