An old school photo may earn one Telford woman a place on the world’s largest photo mosaic after being shortlisted to become the face of the record-breaking image.
Diane Fellows, from Madeley, submitted the photo to the Big Picture, an innovative arts project which aims to break a world record by using images sent in from across the West Midlands.
Her picture is an old school photo from days spent at Beeches Road School in Blackheath.
From a total of 110,000 images received by The Big Picture, it has been shortlisted alongside seven other photographs to potentially become the final image of the record-breaking mosaic.
Diane, who was originally born in Dudley, said she was shocked to discover that she had been shortlisted for the competition.
She said: “I responded to an appeal sent on Midlands Today BBC News for people to send in a photo if they are from the West Midlands. It was my husband who first saw it and told me about it.
“I had no idea it was part of a competition to be the face of the world’s largest photo mosaic and so it was a really big surprise when I was shortlisted.
“This photo was taken when I was in primary school at Beeches Road in Blackheath. I must have been about six or seven years old. I am now 50 and live in Shropshire with my husband of 20 years.
“I love photography and thanks to my son, who bought me a digital pro suite for Christmas, I have been able to restore and airbrush many old photos including this one.
“I now work at the Ironbridge Museum and have a very keen interest in history, particularly local history.”
The eight shortlisted photos, including Diane’s, were selected for their unique boldness and stories plus their suitability to be reproduced into the huge scale work of art.
All 110,000 images sent in from the public will be used to create the mosaic, which will be the size of three tennis courts and unveiled outside Thinktank at Birmingham’s Millennium Point on August 23.
The mosaic will create the image of one of the final eight shortlisted photos, but the special picture will be kept under tight wraps until the grand unveiling.
Artist Helen Marshall will be responsible for overseeing the creative direction and physical construction of the final mosaic and was involved in the shortlisting process.
She said: “I was struck by this face whilst looking for photographs that represented people. The colours are so distinctive and have a lost quality rarely seen in contemporary photographs that are more true to life.”
In addition to having their photograph selected to become the final image of the mosaic, the contributor behind the successful picture will also receive £200 of photo vouchers from project sponsor, Jessops.
Big Picture Project Manager, Kerry Endsor, added: “The aim of The Big Picture was to encourage as many different people from all ages and interests to get involved, to help create a detailed piece of social history that offers an insight into the lives and loves of local residents.
“This will create a true picture of the region that will be there to enjoy for generations to come. The picture of Diane’s is a great example of how old photos can be lovingly restored to their former glory.”
The Big Picture is now looking for volunteers across the region to support in the construction of the worlds largest photo mosaic. For more details, visit www.inthebigpicture.co.uk.
The Big Picture is run by Birmingham based Audiences Central for Arts Council England, West Midlands.
