Mirrors 5, 1972: Lithograph and screenprint on paper

Mirror #5, 1972, marks a shift within Roy Lichtenstein’s Mirror series, moving away from the circular format toward a vertical, panel-like composition that more directly evokes the presence of a standing mirror. The work is divided into two dominant fields, a deep black and a saturated yellow, separated by a narrow central boundary. Rather than depicting any reflected subject, Lichtenstein reduces the image to flat planes and subtle irregularities along the edges, suggesting the distortions and inconsistencies of a reflective surface without rendering them literally.

This print demonstrates Lichtenstein’s continued interest in how reflection can be communicated through abstraction and visual convention. The use of lithograph and screenprint creates a smooth, mechanical finish, while the slightly uneven contours introduce a sense of movement and instability within the otherwise rigid structure. By stripping the mirror of its functional purpose and reducing it to colour, division, and edge, Lichtenstein transforms it into a conceptual object, one that exists purely within the language of image-making and challenges the viewer to recognise reflection without any actual reflection present.