NATHAN WYBURN | Celebrity Portrait Series
We exhibit a series of five portraits of celebrity icons. These are prints of the original works, since they were executed in unorthodox & perishable materials. Graphically arresting, and deploying a pun on subject/medium which defies all expectation, these images invite conversation.
Bob Marley … in Reggae Reggae Sauce
Wizard of Oz star Judy Garland … in Rainbow Drops
The Queen … in Greek food
Stephen Fry … in egg fried rice
Tommy Cooper … in Marmite & Bovril
Artist Nathan Wyburn pulls off a crafty move, combining a self-reflective postmodern art practice with instant popularity and audience building. Time-lapse videos on the artist's “viral” hit channel on You Tube provide the proof that this is no Photoshop hoodwink - yes,these images really are painted with food! Andy Warhol, redux?
Concept/Commodity/Celebrity
The artist writes:
“We recognise this as a photograph of a ‘painting’ of a photograph. The process of making a painting’ using nontraditional mediums and photographing them has become central to my work. Inspired by my fascination with popular imagery and celebrity culture, I’m making a conceptual equivalence between commercial products (such as Marmite) and the notion of ‘celebrity’. It can be argued that public figures are corporate creations, and or, disposable commodities intended for mass consumption. Similar to the mediums in which I create their portraits, these are manufactured products, sold in mass for public consumption.”
Going Viral
A meteoric rise from Ebbw Vale to the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent 2011, and building an international audience beyond, Nathan Wyburn’s arresting Pop Art needs no introduction to his fans. A global hit by any measure, videos of this young artist at work have attracted in excess of 10 million hits on You Tube!
Famous... for more than 15 mins!
Nathan attended college in Cross Keys, and graduated from Cardiff School of Art and Design. The fledgling artist’s clever hack into Britain’s Got Talent, whilst still a student, set in play a career vortex that has elevated Nathan to celebrity status. Nathan has silenced his critics, the art school tutors, who said his artistic approach would lead nowhere.
Few Welsh artists gain the plaudits of press both abroad [ New York Magazine] and at home [ South Wales Argus]. At home is often the toughest turf.
Nathan Wyburn’s pop art transcends the fickle world of celebrity stardom. “Yes, at the age of 27, it’s strange to have become a role model for younger people”, smiled Nathan in recent conversation. Nathan is an Ambassador for BulliesOut and Pride Cymru. Nathan’s art is featured in the National Curriculum for Art in Wales.
Nathan’s success provides an empowering message that young people from Wales have the potential to take it to anyone, anywhere! Read Nathan’s inspiring recent book, Not That Kind of Art.
Read more on Nathan Wyburn | Download Pdf PORTRAIT 11: Catalogue
Links | Nathan Wyburn
● Nathan Wyburn | You Tube Channel | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChO7f3jI_aZwpM4mG4Fvg ● SIMON COWELL MARMITE ON TOAST PAINTING | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es6xmzCw4o ● Bbc.co.uk | Nathan Wyburn wants art world to 'take him seriously' ( 15 Sept 2015) | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukwales34243549 ● Walesonline.co.uk | Ebbw Vale artist Nathan Wyburn tells of years of bullying and homophobia in his debut book ( 9 Nov 2015) | http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/ebbwvaleartistnathanwyburn10417274 ● Nathan Wyburn | Not That Kind of Art (Candy Jar Books, Nov 2015) | https://www.amazon.co.uk/NotThatKindNathanWyburn/dp/0993322107 ● New York Magazine | Q&A: The Man Who Used Cracker Crumbs to Draw Cara Delevingne (7 April 2014) | http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/04/qathemanwhodrewcaradelevingneincrumbs.html#