Johnny Depp shifts focus to his artistic side, with a self-portrait reflecting his ‘fifth year of madness’. Discover how Depp’s art is telling his tumultuous story.
Key Takeaways
- Johnny Depp's new artistic venture involves a self-portrait that encapsulates the trials and tribulations of his past five years, post the libel trials with ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.
- The work, titled 'Five,' uses mixed-media silkscreen and archival pigment, derived from a photoshoot for Dior's fragrance, Sauvage.
- Depp's self-portrait is priced at £1,950 ($2,500), with the actor committing to sign each piece and pledging to donate 10 percent of the proceeds from its sale to Mental Health America.
Johnny Depp: An Actor’s Transition to Self-Portraiture Amid Libel Trial Controversy
As the year unfolds, Johnny Depp is tapping into the turbulence that life has thrown his way, transmuting it into an artistic form – self-portraiture. The seasoned actor, following the launch of his second silkscreen prints series at Castle Fine Arts earlier this year, has taken a turn inward, using himself as the centerpiece of his newest work, as reported by the Associated Press.
The silkscreen and archival pigment work that Depp is currently involved in draws inspiration from a photoshoot, conceived by Jean-Baptiste Mondino for Dior’s Sauvage fragrance. The name of the work, intriguingly titled ‘Five,’ serves as a metaphor to what Depp identifies as his “fifth year of madness,” referencing the controversy-filled years post his libel trials with ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.
Heard had accused Depp of physical abuse in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, a claim that led to a series of libel trials. One trial held in Virginia concluded in Depp’s favor, where the jury held Heard’s mentions of “sexual violence” and “domestic abuse” as defamatory. Conversely, Depp found himself at the losing end in another trial in England, where he sued the owner of The Sun for reporting that he had abused Heard. As a result of this loss, Depp was asked to step away from popular franchises including “Fantastic Beasts” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Turning Dark Times Into Art: Johnny Depp’s Artistic Journey
Depp embarked on this self-portrait project in 2021, during what he encapsulates as a “time that was, let’s say, a bit dark, a bit confusing,” in the promotional video. This project continues the tradition of comic-book-style screenprints that Depp released last year and as recently as March 2023 through Castle. His previous series, “Friends & Heroes” and “Friends & Heroes II”, featured well-known figures who either inspired Depp or those who have been a part of his nearly four-decade-long acting journey. Names include Heath Ledger, Bob Marley, River Phoenix, and Hunter S. Thompson.
Ian Weatherby-Blythe, the managing director at Castle Fine Art, expressed admiration for Depp’s new venture, describing it as the “most personal piece he’s ever done.” He added, “Johnny still has many, many fans out there, but I’m also hoping that art buyers will see it as a one-off work of art… He’s painted and drawn his entire life, and I think art connoisseurs will see that.”
Priced at £1,950 (roughly $2,500), the work comes in cheaper than his previous creations. Depp has pledged to personally sign “each and every one,” according to Weatherby-Blythe, and plans to donate around 10 percent ($250) of the sales proceeds to Mental Health America.
