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| Brexit visions of 'Cold War Steve' showcased on Liverpool billboard | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Considered by some a “modern Hogarth” and better known as Cold War Steve by his legion of online fans, Christopher Spencer’s surreal visions of Brexit Britain have been showcased in public for the first time on a Liverpool billboard. | |
| Spencer was an unknown fledgling artist two years ago. He failed to get into university to study fine art and had been floundering between one menial job and another. He had a breakdown and attempted suicide. | Spencer was an unknown fledgling artist two years ago. He failed to get into university to study fine art and had been floundering between one menial job and another. He had a breakdown and attempted suicide. |
| But this attempt to take his own life would result in the birth of @Coldwar–Steve, a darkly comic Twitter profile dedicated to a collection of absurdist photomontages. | But this attempt to take his own life would result in the birth of @Coldwar–Steve, a darkly comic Twitter profile dedicated to a collection of absurdist photomontages. |
| “I started sketching as soon as I popped out of the womb … but this is something I could never have expected in my wildest dreams,” he said at the unveiling of his first public commission – a 16ft (4.8-metre) billboard in Liverpool’s Williamson Square. | “I started sketching as soon as I popped out of the womb … but this is something I could never have expected in my wildest dreams,” he said at the unveiling of his first public commission – a 16ft (4.8-metre) billboard in Liverpool’s Williamson Square. |
| Inspired by the third panel of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, the piece, entitled the Fourth Estate, is a large scale portrait of the UK news landscape. | Inspired by the third panel of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, the piece, entitled the Fourth Estate, is a large scale portrait of the UK news landscape. |
| Spencer’s creations were in part a response to the grim post-Brexit news agenda but also to his own internal struggles – a means of escapism, a way to bring some light to the shadow of the increasingly fractured political landscape. | Spencer’s creations were in part a response to the grim post-Brexit news agenda but also to his own internal struggles – a means of escapism, a way to bring some light to the shadow of the increasingly fractured political landscape. |
| They feature world leaders such as Donald Trump and Theresa May grappling for space against mundane backdrops with low-level celebrities, including the ever-present figure of EastEnders actor Steve McFadden. | They feature world leaders such as Donald Trump and Theresa May grappling for space against mundane backdrops with low-level celebrities, including the ever-present figure of EastEnders actor Steve McFadden. |
| The idea behind the billboard, said Spencer, is that “people will sit and eat their sarnies in front of it” and attempt to identify the characters. | The idea behind the billboard, said Spencer, is that “people will sit and eat their sarnies in front of it” and attempt to identify the characters. |
| A topless Simon Cowell shows off his tanned torso as he is thrust forward by a lizard on a leash. Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, scurries in the background with a single-striped plastic bag while Jeremy Corbyn hangs on a lamppost desperately trying to escape. | A topless Simon Cowell shows off his tanned torso as he is thrust forward by a lizard on a leash. Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, scurries in the background with a single-striped plastic bag while Jeremy Corbyn hangs on a lamppost desperately trying to escape. |
| The scene is set in Spencer’s birthplace, a pit which runs under Birmingham’s infamous Spaghetti Junction. | The scene is set in Spencer’s birthplace, a pit which runs under Birmingham’s infamous Spaghetti Junction. |
| “It is a bear pit,” says Spencer, 43. “A circle of hell in which all the odious characters roam. And then of course, there is Steve [McFadden], watching on with all the existential angst of the everyday man.” | “It is a bear pit,” says Spencer, 43. “A circle of hell in which all the odious characters roam. And then of course, there is Steve [McFadden], watching on with all the existential angst of the everyday man.” |
| With this first public art display, Spencer finds himself in good company; the work was commissioned by the Rapid Response Unit, an experimental project in Liverpool fusing artists with news and current affairs. Their other commissions have included current Turner Prize holder Lubaina Himid, Lily Cole and Damon Albarn. | With this first public art display, Spencer finds himself in good company; the work was commissioned by the Rapid Response Unit, an experimental project in Liverpool fusing artists with news and current affairs. Their other commissions have included current Turner Prize holder Lubaina Himid, Lily Cole and Damon Albarn. |
| Spencer describes himself as the “normal” son of a teacher and driving instructor from a “very normal suburban background”. He has accumulated 111,000 followers on Twitter, with actor and director Kathy Burke saying @Coldwar_Steve is “one of the funniest accounts on Twitter”, while writer Jon Savage describes him as a “modern Hogarth or Gillray”. | Spencer describes himself as the “normal” son of a teacher and driving instructor from a “very normal suburban background”. He has accumulated 111,000 followers on Twitter, with actor and director Kathy Burke saying @Coldwar_Steve is “one of the funniest accounts on Twitter”, while writer Jon Savage describes him as a “modern Hogarth or Gillray”. |
| But Spencer has set his sights not on world stardom but on rather more humble ambitions: to earn enough from his art to buy his first home and help his wife retire early. | But Spencer has set his sights not on world stardom but on rather more humble ambitions: to earn enough from his art to buy his first home and help his wife retire early. |
| Describing drawing as a “life-long passion” he went to art college in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where his fellow alumni included Gareth Edwards, the director of the Star Wars film Rogue One. | Describing drawing as a “life-long passion” he went to art college in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where his fellow alumni included Gareth Edwards, the director of the Star Wars film Rogue One. |
| But despite applying to three different universities, Spencer was not accepted on to a course to study fine art. He went on to form an electronic “noise” band but fame and fortune eluded him. | But despite applying to three different universities, Spencer was not accepted on to a course to study fine art. He went on to form an electronic “noise” band but fame and fortune eluded him. |
| “This led to 20 years of mundane jobs. I did everything. Worked on the roads, factories, in public service … I met some very interesting characters along the way but spent a lot of time just bored.” | “This led to 20 years of mundane jobs. I did everything. Worked on the roads, factories, in public service … I met some very interesting characters along the way but spent a lot of time just bored.” |
| Then two years ago, Spencer, who suffers from clinical depression, hit a crisis point and attempted suicide. “I was using alcohol and drugs to self-medicate, and then the pressures of everything just got too much for me and everything came crashing down.” | Then two years ago, Spencer, who suffers from clinical depression, hit a crisis point and attempted suicide. “I was using alcohol and drugs to self-medicate, and then the pressures of everything just got too much for me and everything came crashing down.” |
| It was following a stint in hospital and a break from work that Spencer created his first ever montages. | It was following a stint in hospital and a break from work that Spencer created his first ever montages. |
| “I decided to channel everything into art,” he says. “At first my wife didn’t really get it. I was on my phone all the time. In between bathing the kids I’d be composing a new piece and she’d just be like ‘will you get off your fucking phone! But slowly I began to get more of a following and now this.” | “I decided to channel everything into art,” he says. “At first my wife didn’t really get it. I was on my phone all the time. In between bathing the kids I’d be composing a new piece and she’d just be like ‘will you get off your fucking phone! But slowly I began to get more of a following and now this.” |
| He makes most of his work on the Pixomatic app – mainly during bus journeys to his job in the public sector and on his lunch breaks. | He makes most of his work on the Pixomatic app – mainly during bus journeys to his job in the public sector and on his lunch breaks. |
| The only critic he wishes to win over is also his harshest: his 13-year-old daughter. “She is painfully embarrassed by it all. I’m often reminded that Justin Bieber has significantly more followers. I’m fine with it though, it keeps me grounded and she probably gets her misanthropy and cynicism from me.” | The only critic he wishes to win over is also his harshest: his 13-year-old daughter. “She is painfully embarrassed by it all. I’m often reminded that Justin Bieber has significantly more followers. I’m fine with it though, it keeps me grounded and she probably gets her misanthropy and cynicism from me.” |
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