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Rupert Murdoch 'Phone Hack Scandal' Artwork, Nathan Wyburn

2,361 views · Published 17 February 2012 · 3:17 · Indexed 29 September 2026

Channel: NATHAN WYBURN ART · 2012 · News & Politics

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READ: The News Of The World (NOW) was a national tabloid newspaper, framed for its celebrity scoops and sold an average 2.8 million copies. It was published by News Group Newspapers, part of News International, which is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. The paper ceased publication on 10th July 2011 after a long on-going investigation due to its journalists hacking the phones of celebrities, politicians, royals and relatives of crime victims, to get exclusive stories. The police had a list of 4,000 possible targets. 
The Artwork is a 6ft x 10ft tall portrait of the media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. It is carefully collaged of roughly 5,000 images, consisting of 15 case studies of potential and proven phone hack victims. Some of the case studies include the parents of Madeleine McCann , who's mother, Kate claimed she felt 'mentally raped' when the paper printed her private diaries. Big Brother star Jade Goody was convinced her phone was being hacked just weeks before she died of Cancer, also the Beckham's phones were constantly hacked over the past decade, as well as Kate Middleton's, Tony Blair's and Pop star, Cheryl Cole's. The portrait also contains and is bordered with the final NOW cover, which encompasses the artworks title 'THANKYOU & GOODBYE'.
I was inspired to create this piece of work due to the outrage the country and I felt towards these revelations. Up close the viewer can make out the individual photographs, but from a distance Murdoch's portrait dominates. By making it so large I have endowed it with a monumental quality associated with public memorials, but a contradiction arises because heroes and heroines are traditionally awarded such treatment. The repetition of low quality photographs are a representation of repetitive tabloid newsprint. The overlapping of images illustrates how often 'not so important' celebrity gossip stories have over shadowed more serious press. The white reflection in the left eye is a portrait of what I consider one the most upsetting cases of the entire scandal, a portrait of Madeleine McCann. This is tacitly placed here to signify how the reporters pried on their victims. 
The work took over 30 hours to complete, and I am extremely pleased with it's outcome. The work is not intended to upset anybody but bluntly remind them of the scandal that took place. For further questions feel free to e-mail [email protected]
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Thank You
Nathan

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