Shimmer Ma’am

“Shimmer Ma’am” reimagines Queen Elizabeth II through thousands of individual sequins that create her iconic profile. The piece is predominantly monochrome – blacks, whites, and greys forming her features and crown – but strategic bursts of colour appear in her hair and clothing, with iridescent sequins catching light to create a shimmering, ever-changing surface. Each sequin acts as a tiny mirror, making the portrait shift and sparkle as you move around it.

The sequin medium transforms the formal royal portrait into something that belongs more to disco balls and dance floors than palace walls. It’s about taking an image of ultimate tradition and rebuilding it with materials associated with celebration, glamour, and nightlife. The piece questions how we see authority and celebrates the unexpected beauty that emerges when high and low culture collide.