Layers

In Layers, Depp reveals his inveterate love of experimentation, and his embrace of the little accidents—or ‘fuck ups’ as he terms them—that sometimes lead to innovation. A case in point is his use of Rizlas, a type of cigarette papers, on the surface of some of his paintings. Originally, Depp used one to stop a paint drip on the surface, but realised that the versatility of this material added to the picture. And so we find portraits such as that of Marlon Brando where the entire surface is articulated by the tiny paper sheets, like the tesserae of a mosaic. These add movement, dynamism and complex plays of light.

Depp’s pictures here pay tribute to some of the figures who have loomed large in his life and development. Some of these, like his mother, were family, others such as Brando, were friends, while a support cast of outsiders and path finders accompanies them, including Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac or the controversial French playwright and artist Antonin Artaud.