Kylie highly impressed by mosaic
WHEN fledging artist Matthew Leak made an eye-catching mosaic of pop princess Kylie Minogue, he thought it would cause a (Lo)commotion - but he didn’t expect to receive the seal of approval from the pop princess herself.
Matthew, also known by his artist name Leaky Mosaics, had his latest artwork in Manchester city centre endorsed by the muchloved singing superstar after he unveiled it on his Instagram account.
The mosaic, situated on Canal Street, shows a tousle-haired Kylie with her bare back on show as she gazes over one shoulder in a pair of black briefs.
The Neighbours icon shared Matthew’s Instagram post with her 1.5m followers with the words: “I might be falling to pieces, but MCR has my back! #Repost @leakymosaics.” Matthew, 35, from Stretford, shared his Kylie mosaic with the words: “Kylie in Mcr by @leakymosaics - Ceramics with sex appeal. #kylieminogue #manchester #streetarteverywhere #mosaic #mosaicart #canalstreet” and has since been flooded with requests from people asking if they can buy one.
“When I realised Kylie shared a picture of my mosaic on her Instagram I was gobsmacked,” he said.
“I had to keep checking and checking again that it was actually Kylie.
“The decision behind the Kylie mosaic is that I wanted to put a Kylie mosaic in the Gay Village and Kylie is a gay icon.”
Over the past year, Matthew has made five small mosaics fixed in locations across Manchester including the one of Kylie opposite G-A-Y club, which was completed and added to the wall last Thursday.
Uncle Fester, from the Addams Family, gazes out from the canalside at Castlefield, 007 actor Roger Moore can be spotted near Black Milk cafe, on Oldham Street, and cartoon characters Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner can be seen in Edge Street in the Northern Quarter.
Matthew makes them by night in secret when no-one else is around to see him at work,
He has also made mosaics of other musical legends including David Bowie, The Beatles and Lemmy, from Motorhead, and is currently showing his work in Art My treasure gallery in Wilmslow.
Anyone interested in Matthew’s work can contact him via his Instagram and Facebook accounts of Leaky Mosaics.