I Make Historic Portraits From Old Beer Cans

As an artist I like my artworks to tell stories and I often use discarded materials. I have been collecting old beer cans from the streets around my studio for a few years, knowing that one day I would make an artwork from them.

During the political turmoil in my country over the last few months there has been much discussion about Britain’s heritage and Glory. The Elizabethan era is often depicted as the golden age in English history and so I decided to make a portrait of Elizabeth 1st. I made her from beer cans as it seems that Royal portraits are so far removed from the reality of life on the streets.

First of all I collected the beer cans. After flattening them, I sewed them together on my sewing machine to make a patchwork canvas. The portrait of queen Elizabeth was then punched into the cans using a hammer and roundel. The portrait is the size of a gigantic satellite dish !