Artist Nathan Wyburn creates unusual portrait of Princess Diana, made out of tealights
Today is the 25th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
An artist from the Welsh region of Blaneau Gwent has created a stunning, almost pop-art style portrait of Princess Diana on the 25th anniversary of her death, rather unusually made out of candles.
Nathan Wyburn, 30, from Ebbw Vale, created the piece in memory of the ‘People’s Princess’ who died tragically in a car accident in Paris in 1997, shocking the nation.
The striking piece sees Nathan light the candles, revealing a portrait of Diana smiling directly into the camera.
He then blows out the candles, letting the portrait fade out to symbolise her untimely demise.
The song in the background of the video the artist uploaded to social media is the revised version of Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind’, known as ‘Goodbye England’s Rose’ which sold 33 million copies on its release such was the tsunami of national grief after the Princess’s untimely death.
Speaking about the piece to a Welsh news outlet online, Nathan said: “The portrait was extremely emotional to make, it went from just a pretty painting to something of quite a magical feeling when lighting the candles. I found the most emotive part, when the last candle stands still in the video and goes out.
“Reflecting the Elton John lyrics ‘your candle burned out long before, your legend ever will.’”
Nathan often creates portraits of celebrities out of objects, and recently created a portrait of Britney Spears made entirely out of ballerina slippers.
Princess Diana died from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, alongside her partner Dodi Fayed and the driver of the car, Henri Paul.
Her death caused a huge amount of public grief in the UK, when so many streets were filled with rows and rows of floral tributes and elaborate bouquets, and the impact of her loss resonated worldwide, with an estimated 2.5 billion people watching her funeral.