Dhead V 1995

David Bowie’s ‘Dhead V’ presents us with a compelling study of the human face, a mask of raw emotion rendered with bold brushstrokes. Notice the eyes, wide and seemingly frantic. This motif of exaggerated eyes, signaling intense emotion, is a recurring theme throughout art history. Think back to the wide-eyed figures in Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’; an image of existential dread. These figures share a visual language of heightened emotional states. The seemingly erratic strokes could be seen as a visual echo of psychological turmoil, where individual identity becomes blurred, reflecting a universal expression of inner conflict. Indeed, these symbols are not static but evolve, shaped by cultural memory and artistic interpretation. Bowie, like many artists before him, taps into this reservoir of shared human experience, presenting us with an image that resonates on a profound level. This portrait transcends the individual to speak to our collective understanding of the human condition.