Technology

Quote of the day: David Hockney on technology



David Hockney 2026
“It’s not the tool that matters—it’s the eye. A good painting is still a good painting, whether it’s made with a brush or a stylus. It is about sharing experiences. Machines don’t have experiences.”
David Hockney, A Rabbit’s Foot

These were some of David Hockney’s last words, published recently in A Rabbit’s Foot magazine. Always streets ahead of the curve in using new technology, he was a real thinker, whose many books weren’t only visual feasts, but an education in how to look.

While he made pioneering work with Polaroid cameras, faxes and iPads, he didn’t seem all that impressed with A.I. “People are fascinated by machines—but machines don’t see. They calculate. An image made without a human looking isn’t very interesting to me.”

In the accompanying photo, Hockney wore this dazzling oversize check suit and I love the coordinating tie and glasses. He was (quite rightly) held up as a fashion icon and had only recently had six new suits made by his French tailor. Now that’s style dedication.

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: David Hockey/ A Rabbit’s Foot
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Random recs: Lucian Freud’s drawings, Peter York talks, smells like Studio Nicholson, Blank Street for Fashion Week and more



Lucian Freud Portrait of a Young Man

A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…


1/ LUCIAN FREUD’s ink brush drawings
, scrawly illustrated love letters, etchings and early paintings are a major highlight of Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting (above and below) just opened at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition is huge and the best bit is no wire barriers to trip over, letting you get super close to examine Freud’s meticulous hatching technique. P.S. the merch is fab (below); I’m going back for the mini daffodil tray. Bella Freud’s tees and totes are fun too.
Lucian Freud love letter (more…)



Quote of the day: Kathryn Jezer-Morton



Ed Ruscha I Can't Not Do That

“Friction-maxxing is not simply a matter of reducing your screen time, or whatever. It’s the process of building up tolerance for “inconvenience” (which is usually not inconvenience at all but just the vagaries of being a person living with other people in spaces that are impossible to completely control) — and then reaching even toward enjoyment.”
Kathryn Jezer-Morton, The Cut (more…)



Random Recs: ‘Unplugging’, Soshiotsuki x Zara, Spud shoes, TURN Paris and more



Zara x Aaron Levine

A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ Unplug me. I’m never sure if these anti-digital ’trends’ are real or if I’m just seeing them in my echo chamber because I want them to be. Nevertheless, Vogue Business has intel to back up its claim that unplugging ‘has become luxury’s most valuable currency’, reporting that The Global Wellness Summit’s The Future of Wellness trend report named ‘analogue wellness’ as its top trend for 2025. It also reports that 67% of Americans long for the “pre-plugged-in” era, while 79% of US Gen Zs actively aspire to interact more in the physical world. (more…)