A vibrant tapestry that celebrates the essential but sometimes unappreciated work of refuse collectors is to go on display alongside portraits of high-profile figures such as Stormzy and Andy Murray when the refurbished National Portrait Gallery reopens this summer.
The tapestry, titled John Barry, O Kelly, Sonny and Richard Moore after the four essential workers it depicts, is by the Kenyan-born artist Michael Armitage, whose painting of the same name was commissioned by the Southbank Centre during the Covid pandemic. It has now been acquired by the NPG.
“This tapestry is about community and the workers in the community that go largely unseen. It gives me great pleasure to know that these workers will be recognised in a public space in the heart of London,” said Armitage.
As well as depicting the four men – whose names are included in the artwork – throwing rubbish into a red truck, the tapestry and painting also show paramedics transferring a patient into an ambulance and a childlike drawing of a rainbow, the image used to celebrate the NHS during the pandemic.
In the bottom corner are the dramatic masks of tragedy and comedy, suggestive of the ubiquitous face masks of the pandemic.
Armitage worked with weavers and artists from West Dean College of Arts and Conservation to transform his 2020 painting into a tapestry.
Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the NPG, said: “I’m delighted we have acquired this beautiful work by Michael Armitage, one of the most significant artists working today, which rightly applauds key workers.”
The tapestry will hang in the new National Lottery Heritage Fund gallery at the NPG in central London, which is reopening on 22 June. The space will display images of contemporary “history makers”, such as the race campaigner Doreen Lawrence, the England footballer Lucy Bronze, the author Jeanette Winterson and 130 inspirational women in an 8-metre-long mural.
Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “It’s fantastic that this amazing piece by Michael Armitage will be part of the History Makers collection. This is the space that will bring to life the stories and faces of the people shaping our society today – whether it’s key workers during the pandemic or inspirational individuals who contribute to their communities right across the UK.”
Since the NPG closed in June 2020 for refurbishment, it has lent hundreds of portraits a year to British regional galleries and organisations.
