Cutting-edge portraits of the Queen by up to 52 urban, graffiti and contemporary artists are going on show to mark her Platinum Jubilee. Serving as a muse to the established and emerging international artists, the 96-year-old monarch has been hailed as a “true icon” and a “cultural inspiration” as she celebrates her 70-year reign.
Alternative pieces by musician and graffiti artist Goldie, who depicts a young Elizabeth II against a union flag backdrop, and X-ray artist Ernesto Romano, who created an X-ray side profile of the sovereign, will be among the works. Mixed media artist Louisa Tebbutt’s Queen is an art on steel “never complain, never explain” monarch with a strip of union flag over her mouth, while James Vaulkhard made the Queen’s image out of 2p coins.
Ballpoint artist James Mylne’s Queen Of The Hood shows a cool, composed Queen in designer sunglasses as she stands in her regal Order of the Garter robes, while visual artist Karen Bystedt, known for The Lost Warhols series, vamps up the monarch’s crown and cloak with a red Louis Vuitton pattern. Selected portraits from the Art Save The Queen exhibition will be made into NFTs or non-fungible tokens – a one-of-a-kind digital unit of data stored in a blockchain and used to certify ownership and authenticity, with a scheduled drop date of June 1.
