10:55am Monday 20th October 2008
Amy Winehouse may not be everyone’s idea of a muse but her chaotic personal life inspired pop artist Gerald Laing to paint a series of iconic images of the star.
The paintings of the Brit School graduate appear alongside images of another Croydon institution, Kate Moss as well as Victoria Beckham.
The iconic image of The Kiss II shows Winehouse locked in a passionate smooch with husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who was later incarcerated for perverting the course of justice.
Another image, Gethsemane, captures the couple's farewell as Fielder-Civil is arrested following a tip-off from the media.
Belshazzar’s Feast is a direct reference to Rembrandt’s masterpiece in the National Gallery, and shows the singer reaching for more wine on a table laden with food and alcohol in a scene capturing the baroque grandeur and excess of today’s celebrity lifestyle.
Amy's multi-faceted persona is further interpreted by Laing in the tender dichotomy of Mother, Child and Alter Ago, as well as in the banal disorder of Domestic Perspective.
Another highlight of the exhibition is an abstract portrait of Kate Moss.
The paintings are on display at the ocontemporary gallery on Wardour Street in London until November 15.
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