Douglas Gordon explores a wide range of themes, including morality, ethics, mental and physical states, and collective memory and self-identity in his work. He uses a variety of mediums, such as literature, folklore, and iconic Hollywood films, as well as his own footage, drawings, and writings, to manipulate time and language in order to disorient and challenge the viewer. He attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where he deepened his interest in cinema and film. After that, he returned to Glasgow and became involved with Transmission Gallery, where he presented one of his notable works, 24 Hour Psycho (1993), which extended the duration of Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho (1960) from its original 110 minutes to twenty-four hours. Gordon is heavily influenced by Scottish literary history, particularly by the tension between good and evil. He has created work such as Tale of a Justified Sinner (1995), which references Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Déjà-Vu (2000), which is composed of footage from Rudolph Maté's D.O.A. (1949). Gordon's work continues to explore themes of identity, self-image, and mortality through various mediums such as text works, neon art, and film and video. He also created a series of sculptures depicting parts of his own hands and forearms in positions that could be interpreted as both innocent and sinister, suggesting the internal struggles of the individual.
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