* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Joe Black creates detailed portraits from thousands of badges, each depicting images and icons, that range from the Vietnam War to Elvis Presley.
Made in China, a portrait is of a young Chinese soldier, was constrcuted using more than 5,500 toy soldiers. Most of the badges he makes himself and relate to the final product in some way. For example, his Superman portrait is made up of fast food corporation logos, to convey the idea that goodness has been defeated by our ever-growing need to consume.
‘If it’s small enough I’ll stick it down,’ says Black, who is a also a painter.
"I really enjoy Black’s incredible images. He uses unusual materials to create larger than life portraits of icons that are uniquely striking and provoking."
