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Headline : Freddie Mercury artwork made from upcycled computer keyboard keys
Caption : Florida-based artist Doug Powell had One Vision when he set out to create a portrait of Freddie Mercury from recycled computer keyboard keys, and 300 hours later here's the amazing result.
Doug has created close to 60 portraits since his first creation - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln - was snapped up by bosses at London's Ripley's Believe It Or Not! oddities museum for just under $10,000 a decade ago and over the years he has smashed up an estimated one million keyboards to create a palette of black, white, grey and brown keys so he can create A Kind of Magic.
His new piece of the iconic Queen singer, which features 7,000 recycled computer keyboard keys, is now on show at the new Park Avenue Contemporary Gallery in Winter Park, Florida and up for grabs at $22,500, and Doug is confident his keyed-up Freddie will sell quickly.
"The gallery just sold an Andy Warhol in just 20 days, so I have high hopes," he says.
What makes puzzle-loving Powell's incredible art pieces extra special are the word games he includes in every portrait.
Fans not only get a one-of-a-kind creation when they check out his work, but they can search for words and phrases hidden in the frame - for his 70-inch high Freddie, Doug included a few of the great man's quotes, Queen song titles and lyrics, like "Get on your bikes and ride" and "We are the champions, my friends and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end", and Mercury's birth name, Farrokh Bulsara as part of the art.
"I like to make my art pieces unique and interactive," he coos. "People can check out the portrait and then play I spy with words associated with the subject matter."
Doug's passion, which began with making artistic puzzle pieces, has now become a full-time gig and you'll find him smashing up keyboards and sorting through his massive key collection, looking for just the right colour and shade, 15 hours a day. And now he has completed his Mercury masterpiece he's already dreaming up his next subject - David Bowie or Bob Dylan.
"I have some great ideas for them," he beams.
Doug is also working on a bitcoin piece he's hoping to offer up as a non-fungible token at the Art Basel fair in Miami, Florida later this year (Dec21).
PersonInImage : Artist Doug Powell with gallery owner Denise Autorino