Nathan Wyburn is a Welsh fine artist who uses non-traditional mediums such as food, newspaper, candles, motor oil and other everyday items to create incredible celebrity portraits and pop culture imagery.
“We recognize this as a photograph of a ‘painting’ of a photograph. The process of making a ‘painting’ using non-traditional 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’,” he wrote on his website. “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.”
According to the artist, working with unconventional materials is very challenging as they don’t dry quite as well compared to paint and there are various textures so you have to be attentive and cautious all the time. “Things like ketchup and chocolate start to run if the temperature is too high in the room … It’s a lot of trial and error with a lot of different materials, but that’s part of the fun of it for me,” Wyburn said during an interview with The Cut.
His impressive art has been featured on several TV shows including Britain’s Got Talent, Daybreak, Blue Peter, and ITV news. Wyburn also did commissioned work for famous brands such as Marmite, BIC, and P&G.
Check out his latest works below.
