Oasis mural made of bucket hats unveiled ahead of gigs

Artist Nathan Wyburn used 3,000 black and white bucket hats to make a large mural of the Gallagher brothers

Paul Pigott
BBC News

A portrait of Liam and Noel Gallagher made from 3,000 black and white bucket hats has been unveiled in Cardiff as the city prepares to host the first Oasis gigs in nearly 16 years.

Artist Nathan Wyburn, 35, said he was "proud" the brothers chose Wales to kick off their long-awaited reunion.

The 16ft (4.9m) mural was unveiled on Saturday during a "pre-gig party" at the St David's shopping centre.

"They offered to send me 3,000 bucket hats, an offer I could not refuse, and I have now turned them into Liam and Noel Gallagher," Wyburn said.

The artist is known for using unconventional materials or everyday objects to create his work.

He said when people thought of Oasis "they probably think of the sunglasses and the bucket hats, so it just seemed incredibly obvious to me that it had to be made with bucket hats".

Skip image gallery
  1. A black and white mural of noel and liam gallagher, both looking sternly forward. They have short cropped hair and liam is wearing round sunglasses. The texture of the bucket hats can be seen. the mural is up against a yellow wall. there is a blonde pony tailed woman in blue jeans and a white top walking right in front of the mural and her legs and arms are blurred by motion
    St David’s | Alistair Heap

    The Gallagher brothers' portrait had gone up ahead of the Oasis 2025 reunion tour's opening gig in Cardiff on 4 July

It took Wyburn five days to create the portrait in his studio, which is a converted church.

He first drew the brothers on a eight fireproof boards, then began the gruelling process of stapling bucket hats into just the right places.

"My hand is in a lot of pain right now because I don't know how many times I shot that staple gun," he said.

Most of the hats are intact, but a few were cut up to create finer details.

A close up of the mural. Wyburn has one arm against the mural and in his other hand he has a staple gun. He is wearing a green t-shirt with white trim, has short brown hair, a scruffy reddish beard and is heavily tattooed on both arms with and large monochrome butterfly tat on the right side of his neck. St David’s | Alistair Heap

Oasis mural artist Wyburn said his hand hurts from stapling bucket hats to the boards

From his studio, the mural was shipped to St David's in eight sections the evening before the unveiling.

"[It's] split right down the middle in case we need to separate Liam and Noel," he laughed.

But is Wyburn a fan of the band?

"I like their ballads, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger, but I wouldn't say I particularly followed their career," said Wyburn, who is originally from Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent.

Liam Gallagher looking slights off camera. he is wearing a white bucket hat with two thin dark stripes just about the brim pulled down to just about his eye. He has brown hair, down to the top of his blure round neck shirt. Getty Images

Liam Gallagher at their height of his Oasis fame in the 1990s

As an artist he said it was his job to "document things as they happen".

"The fact that one of the biggest duos in history are getting back together, I feel like it's my duty as an artist to create something for that."

His creation, dubbed the Wonder Wall, will remain in place until after Oasis play at the Principality Stadium on 4 and 5 July.

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