Julian Opie's Imagine You Are Driving, Fast was the first commission we curated in a series of art projects sponsored by the Honda F1 racing team. Opie was a natural choice for this commission as his work has long been preoccupied with movement and Imagine You Are Driving, Fast uses images of Grand Prix racetracks juxtaposed with famous F1 drivers on a 60-metre-long wall installation to depict speed. The sporting heroes behind the portraits and Opie's first marriage of portraits and landscapes make this a historically significant work. The work was unveiled to great acclaim in a vast warehouse in London's Truman Brewery (2002) and has subsequently toured to TN Probe, Tokyo (2002); Grand Central Station, Milan (2003); and the Nasional Museum, Jakarta (2005) where the work was extended to include a soundscape.
This commission was part of the Tribe Art Project for the Honda F1 team that we curated for many years. An art and lifestyle programme, Tribe Art provided an original and engaging way of showcasing the F1 team and their sponsor's commitment to creativity and innovation through an annual major international touring commission by international artists. Varying in scale, budget and venues (from museum and gallery partnerships to warehouses, railway stations, car parks, clubs and bars), the project was supported by a cutting edge international art and lifestyle travel website that maximised audiences and ensured that the integrity of the artists' visions and the quality of the project were never compromised.