Artist creates Mona Lisa from 100 iPhone replicas

One hundred iPhones are pinned onto a brick wall and each screen shows a snippet of the Mona Lisa portrait. Three people are standing and looking at the displayImage source, Thom Bartley
Image caption,

The Mona Lisa portrait took months for Imbue to create

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When was the last time you pulled out your phone at a concert or museum?

For Birmingham-based artist Imbue, the "sea of iPhones" that blocked his sight of the Mona Lisa was a real disappointment when he visited the Louvre in Paris.

The experience inspired him to recreate the portrait using 100 iPhone replicas, highlighting how people can travel across the world only to view artwork through a screen.

"Everyone wants to capture moments and they don't want to miss out on the memory but they end up missing out what's happening by using their phone," he said.

The 37-year-old spent months creating the project by printing the famous portrait on to laser-cut panels and placing them inside phone cases.

"I'm not trying to hammer something home but I think people will smile and get the idea of experiencing things for real rather than looking through your phone," he said.

A man is wearing a yellow top and a blue and white shirt. He is standing in front of a brick wall with a vending machine to his left.
Image caption,

Imbue is hosting his largest art exhibition yet in Digbeth

Imbue, who shares his creations with more than 90,000 followers on social media, said he had loved art since he was a child.

"I've always loved building things with my hands, it used to be Lego and cardboard boxes and art was the only subject I was good at."

Now, he has been a full-time artist for nearly 20 years and is hosting his latest exhibition, external in Digbeth, Birmingham - in which the Mona Lisa work features - until 10 July.

Named Lost All Meaning, it aims to highlight how developments in AI and social media has made people appreciate artwork less as it becomes more "throwaway".

"People want to see things and go to destinations so they can take a photo rather than being there for what it is," he said.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 3, A man is wearing a denim jacket and is typing on a keyboard. There is a computer displaying a search engine named 'Godle'., Imbue created a website named Godle to highlight how people ask their computers everything

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