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Palindrome

1974
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Palindrome
  • Artist: Richard Hamilton (British, London 1922–2011 Oxfordshire)
  • Date: 1974
  • Medium: Lenticular acrylic sheet laminated on color collotype with white paper sticker
  • Edition: 84/100 + 10 artist's and 6 publisher's proofs
  • Dimensions: 23 3/8 × 17 3/8 in. (59.4 × 44.1 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Reba and Dave Williams Gift, 2000
  • Object Number: 2000.382
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Swingeing London 67, Richard Hamilton British, Etching, aquatint, photoetching, and collage, embossed and die stamped with metallic foil
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