Dating from 1966, this work bears close relation to a number of other studies made by the artist in the same year. It is particularly close in composition, when rotated 90 degrees, to the screenprint Winged Curve, 1966 (BRS 8).

Riley’s early black and white works marked a major breakthrough within her practice, forming the basis of an extraordinary six-decade-long enquiry into the mechanics of human perception. Her previous works consisted largely of homages to Georges Seurat, whose Pointillist technique was a key source of inspiration to the young artist. Since her childhood in Cornwall, Riley had been fascinated by the mysteries of vision, paying meticulous attention to the tiny shifts and nuances that define the way we process visual information. While Seurat’s canvases had provided much scope for deep analysis, it was not until the black and white revelation that Riley hit upon a means of formulating her own discoveries. By sequencing simple shapes through a variety of different configurations, she was able to explore at close range the complex optical sensations that even the most basic lines and hues were capable of inciting.