August 12, 1999

In his series of offset lithographs August 12, 1999, Douglas Gordon explores an eclipse that took place in 1999, the ultimate sensory moment which reminds us of the power of light and the circular path of our solar system. The ten images display the eclipse as it was presented on the front pages of ten different Scottish newspapers. Even something as fundamental as the source of light on earth being blocked for a few seconds looks entirely different depending on who took the picture and which paper you read. Gordon poignantly captures the difference between an event and an individual’s understanding of it, between the world and its representation.