Francis Bacon: Human Presence; Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound – review

National Portrait Gallery; Tate Modern, London
Likeness is almost beside the point as Bacon’s wild originality transcends simple portraiture. At the Turbine Hall, Mire Lee’s floating ‘skins’ are a one-hit spectacleA mist of fine dots spreads across the pale face, with its distinctive moon shape. Scimitar eyebrows rise above a lowered gaze. The half-open mouth is kissably soft, and the hair still lies in a boyish fringe. Francis Bacon is 78 years old, but has made himself