Josef Fritzl.  David Beckham.  Stanley Kubrick.  Names one would never use in the same sentence unless they would happen to know of John Squire and his exhibition Celebrity.  Best known as the guitarist of The Stone Roses,  Squire has since turned to his artwork after the group’s break up in 1996.  (I might add that they are getting back together for a small but mighty world tour this year!)  The collection of abstract portraits are based on the phenomena of the celebrity and society’s fascination with individuals.  Squire said he “wanted to look at the darker side of human nature, our primal desire for blood as well as our need to worship, and the way these traits are exploited by the media”.  The patterned portraits are based on the repetition and re-telling of stories that make part the celebrity image.  Contrastingly, the painterly patterns are based around the eight-pointed star of traditional Islamic art to illustrate how their religion tries to avoid creating idols of any particular individual.

Although the exhibition has passed, signed limited edition prints can still be found on his website johnsquire.com

Stanley Kubrick. 70 x 90 cm ink and oil on canvas.

Keira Knightley. 90 x 70 cm ink and oil on canvas.

Woody Allen. 90 x 70 cm ink and oil on canvas.

Vivienne Westwood. 90 x 70 cm  ink on canvas.

Harry Houdini. 86 x 86 cm ink and oil on canvas.

Rihanna. 70 x 90 cm ink and oil on canvas.

Josef Fritzl. 90 x 70 cm ink and oil on canvas.

Elizabeth Peyton. 90 x 70 cm ink and oil on canvas.

x Lauren Demith Chung