Alexandra Palace: Selfies wanted for giant artwork

Helen Marshall's previous work includes The People's Monarch, which is currently on show at Gatwick Airport

Selfie-takers in London are being asked to submit their pictures for inclusion in a new permanent artwork at Alexandra Palace.

Artist Helen Marshall creates giant mosaics out of hundreds of smaller images of faces and has work displayed across the world.

The new commission - By the People: 150 Lifetimes - is due to be on show from early 2024.

It is one of a number of events to mark 150 years since 'Ally Pally' opened.

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The People's Monarch was commissioned by BBC South East and uses 5,000 photographs to depict Queen Elizabeth II at the time of her coronation and at her Diamond Jubilee

The original Alexandra Palace was opened in 1873 and contained exhibition spaces, a museum, a lecture hall and library. The original structure burnt down 16 days after opening and a second Alexandra Palace opened two years later

Alexandra Palace

The palace opened in 1873, only to burn down 16 days later.

Reopening in 1875, Victorian Londoners enjoyed festivals, fireworks, banquets, theatre and music at the venue.

In 1900, an Act of Parliament placed the park and palace in public ownership, so it could remain "a place of public resort and recreation" forever.

The palace was repurposed in World War I and was used as a internment camp.

In the 1930s, Ally Pally became home to the BBC and the world's first TV station.

Although World War II put television broadcasting on hiatus, the transmitters were used to jam signals from German aircraft.

Byelaws still prohibit anyone from grazing their bull at Alexandra Palace, riding "any horse above the rate of eight miles per hour", or using any part of the park or palace "for shaking or beating any carpet".

The mosaics are made from hundreds of separate, small images

Emma Dagnes, from the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust, said: "It is your experience of the palace that we want to celebrate.

"It could be seeing live music here, learning to ice skate or simply finding a place that feels special to you and your friends.

"We know people who have met their partners for the first time here, been proposed to or seen their children take their first steps.

"Whatever Ally Pally means to you, we want to hear your stories".

Marshall's work is displayed at locations across the world, including the Kennedy Space Centre, the National Memorial Arboretum and Gatwick Airport.

She said: "It is indeed a rare event as an artist to be invited to create an artwork for such an impressive location... we will co-create an enormous dreamscape made up of photos and stories capturing the true 'spirit' of the place we all love."

To feature in By the People: 150 Lifetimes, send a selfie, portrait, or photo of the park and palace, via thepeoplespicture.com/alexandra-palace-150, with a short explanation of your Ally Pally story.

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