Famous portraits created with digestive biscuits by mosaic artist

A mosaic artist based in London said he had some “trepidation” when McVitie’s called and asked him to make some famous portraits out of biscuits.

Ed Chapman said: “I wondered if it could be done with biscuits, I thought surely they’re going to be crumbling all over the place.”

The art was commissioned as part of the brand’s 100th birthday celebrations for their chocolate digestive.

McVitie’s has operated a biscuit factory in Harlesden, west London since 1902.

“I immediately went out and bought some biscuits to try them out and tested out how it might work – eventually I found my way with them.”

Asked how it was possible to make such vivid portraits out of digestives, he said: “I initially thought they were all quite similar, but actually there’s a white chocolate, gold chocolate, dark chocolate and of course the milk chocolate, and if you flip them over, there’s the biscuit side which is plain, so there’s a few grades of colour and tones there – it’s a palette.

“When I started this, I didn’t think about the warm weather. Thankfully I’ve got a north facing studio, but I kept them in the fridge as they were easier to cut.

Ed says the current warm spell is a bit of a worry, but said: “I’ve protected them with several layers of varnish so, I’m not saying they’re indestructible, but they should certainly last – they wouldn’t last in the direct sun though.”

The artist said it took about 180 hours to make the three portraits and he used “thousands” of biscuits, which were supplied by McVitie’s.

Mr Chapman said the work had already been getting good feedback and attention online.

The mosaic artist has also done campaigns for other companies, including Keep Britain Tidy.

The pictures will be displayed on The Strand from 2 to 5 May.