Annemarie Wright
Annemarie Wright (born 19 July 1979) is an English artist from Cambridgeshire. She is best known for her portrait of Tony Blair created using the handwritten names of fallen British soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, titled Their families have been told.[1] The web page for Wright's portrait of Stephen Fry received 8,000 hits in two hours after being mentioned by Fry on Twitter.[2]
Wright has exhibited in numerous art shows worldwide since her career began, including the 2013 London Art Fair. Wright held her first Solo exhibition at London's Woolff Gallery in March 2011.
Response from the public
Wright's portrait of Blair caused a great deal of controversy from the parents of the soldiers who died. Carol Jones, mother of 31-year-old sergeant John Jones, who was killed whilst serving in Iraq in 2005, said "I hate Tony Blair and I hold him responsible for my son’s death, but I don’t want his name put on Tony Blair’s face".[1] Ann Probyn, whose son, Daniel, died in Afghanistan, described Annemarie's work as honest. "This piece of art seems like an honest and very good idea. Me and my husband blame Tony Blair for sending our boy to his death and this is an imaginative way of holding him to account for that".[3]
The Blair portrait is part of a growing collection of handwritten images by Annemarie called "Scandals – art that rocked the world", which also contains a picture of the Twin Towers created using the names of the victims that died in the 9/11 terror attack (which is featured on the 9/11 Memorial Site[4]) and a picture of Michael Jackson made up of child abuse allegations.
Other notable works
In 2012, Wright completed an artwork of David Cameron based on public opinion. The work was exhibited in Number Nine The Gallery during the Conservative Party Conference 2012, held in October in Birmingham. The work has since been purchased by an unnamed member of the House Of Lords, after being exhibited as part of London Art Fair in 2013.[5]
In April 2015, Wright featured in the BBC News when Natalie Bennett of the Green Party (UK) unveiled handwritten portraits of herself and other political party leaders David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband and Nigel Farage created of public opinions from Twitter and other forms of social media.[6]
Work in historic venues
Wright's work has hung in the reception of Abbey Road Studios. The art features a handwritten list of artists that have recorded at the historic venue.[7]
Another of Wright's works, an image of Boris Johnson, created using handwritten quotes, was featured in Westminster tube station as part of an Art Below exhibition in 2011.[8]
Wright's artwork of Amy Winehouse was installed in the Adee Phelan salon in Birmingham in 2012. The image is a tribute to Winehouse, using the handwritten song lyrics from the artist's Frank and Back to Black albums.[9]
References
- 1 2 "A Birmingham artist has caused outrage among families". Birmingham Mail. 30 July 2010.
- ↑ "Birmingham artist wins backing from Stephen Fry". Birmingham Mail. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ↑ "Poignant Tony Blair image upsets families". Daily Star. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ↑ "Annemarie Wright". 9/11 Memorial Museum.
- ↑ "London Art Fair's Sales Report: From Limoncello's "Take Me Out" to a Cheeky David Cameron Portrait". 18 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ↑ "Twitter portraits of UK party leaders exhibited". BBC News. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ "Annemarie Wright creates Abbey Road art". Abbey Road Studios. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ↑ "Art Below - Our Artists". 18 November 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ↑ "Tragic Amy Winehouse remembered in a portrait made up of the lyrics to her songs". Daily Mail. London. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
