Features

Famous portraits including Alan Bleasdale, Roger McGough, Lloyd Grosman will be featured alongside less well known local faces all of which have a personal meaning to the artist Tony Brown.

BBC Radio Merseyside's Claire Hamilton caught up with the artist ahead of the exhibition launch.

Angela Heslop and Alan Bleasdale

Where did the idea for this project come from?

“Portraits have always been a passion in my life. I wanted something special to celebrate the 800th birthday of Liverpool and I thought no finer example than the spirit of Liverpool

“My original idea is rather than paint a single dimensional portrait of someone, is to involve their family, their wives, their husbands, their children – and the best way to do that was collage. What it conveys is not only the likeness of the person, but all the important things in their lives”.

Anthony Brown in his studio

Taking Roger McGough as an example, what elements apart from physical appearance have you used?

“His work. I grew up with his work and was inspired greatly as a child and as a young student and it’s pretty much made up out of his own poems. Certain articles written about him, family photographs, a kind of a memory box of material really... his work over the past 25, 30 years”.

So you are aiming to give a 3D portrait?

“My aim is to engross the viewer so that they not only see the obvious which is the likeness, but they could spend an hour picking up bits of material, whether it be business cards, photographs, school reports which are damning”

Local faces make up the exhibition

How did you draw up the list?

"It had to be personal, there are so many deserving people and 100 is not a lot. It had to be people that we had dealt with, my wife and I, over the years who had become part of our life. People we are inspired by, people we respect and ultimately it is quite a personal choice of people

"They’re not all famous. I mean we are all famous in our own right and all the canvas’ are of the same size, there’s no-one above and no-one below , we’re all equal".

The 100 Faces will open to the public on the 24th January 2007 at the Capital Buildings on Old Hall Street.