"The world is really, really beautiful if you look at it", but "most people don't look", says the 85-year-old painter in his comments that echo through the exhibition, alongside archival recordings.

Still painting at the age of 85, Hockney has completely embarked on the concept of immersion, explains to AFP Richard Slaney, general manager of Lightroom, the space which co-developed the exhibition with the artist.

"He was always an innovator. He always pushed the limits."

The exhibition, which runs until June 4, started from an email sent by Richard Slaney in 2019 to the artist, suggesting a collaboration.

A 360-degree projection showcases British painter David Hockney's best-known works in London in an immersive exhibition seen here on February 22, 2023 © Daniel LEAL / AFP

Result: 50 minutes of experience combining virtual reality and audio and visual immersion techniques.

The 360-degree projections, which take place in a vast single space, feature the artist's best-known works, as well as others, more rarely exhibited.

"I'm someone who likes to draw...I like to look at things," we hear in Hockney's voice.

"It's my job, I think, to make images", something that the octogenarian still loves "tremendously" he explains.

Hard worker

Born in the north of England in 1937, Hockney established himself as a major figure in pop art, in particular with his "A Bigger Splash" (1967) which captures the surface of the water of a swimming pool after a dive.

View of the immersive exhibition of works by British painter David Hockney in London on February 22, 2023 © Daniel LEAL / AFP

"The sun led me to Los Angeles...I had a feeling that it was a place that I would like," he recalls in the section devoted to his Californian period.

"I went there, without knowing anyone, and I said to myself that it was twice as good as I imagined".

"When you land in Los Angeles, you see all these pools. I started looking at them and noticed the shapes created by the water," he says.

The immersive exhibition by British painter David Hockney, seen here in London on February 22, 2023, is divided into six chapters that delve into the creative process © Daniel LEAL / AFP

Other parts focus on the landscapes of his native Yorkshire, but also of Normandy, where he spent the 2020 lockdown during the pandemic.

His involvement in his art and his "mantra of loving life" are contagious, explains Richard Slaney: "He's very funny... very dry. But also so devoted. He works like crazy every day... He is 85 years old, likes to create," he says.

© 2023 AFP