Celebrated British artist David Hockney has created a 2½-minute animation of a sunrise in spring that will be broadcast on digital billboards across five major cities thoughout May.

Now living in Normandy, France, Hockney, who is 83, used an iPad during lockdown to create the digital work, titled “Remember you cannot look at the sun or death for very long.” Meant to send a message of hope, the piece was inspired by Hockney's kitchen window view.

The platform CIRCA and Times Square Arts collaborated with the artist on the project, which includes a limited edition lithographic poster for sale.

Hockney's sunny media display will be shown at certain times in London’s Piccadilly Square; at New York's Times Square; at Pendry West Hollywood, in Los Angeles; on the Yunika Vision digital billboard in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district; and on a massive screen in the Gangnam district of Seoul.