AS each tiny piece of coloured tile is positioned, the unmistakable facial features of some of the world's most reviled and respected humans emerge.

There is nothing random about this process.

Mosaic artist Ed Chapman meticulously selects the colour before cutting each fragment of tile to suit his needs. Whether he's face to face with Osama bin Laden or George Bush, Ed's exquisite works of art take weeks rather than days to complete.

And these two subjects are just two of the mosaics which are about to go on display at leading Manchester gallery, ArTzu, in an exhibition called Heroes & Villains.

It will feature a collection of 20 portraits of diverse faces such as Diana, Princess of Wales, Tony Blair, George W Bush and the Krays.

Concerned

Ed said the portrait of Osama bin Laden was the mosaic he is most concerned about displaying.

"I am not making a political statement with any of the works," he said.

"There are people in the UK who consider Bin Laden a hero. Millions of people in this country hate George W Bush. I have resisted the temptation to title each work with anything other than the name of the subject.

"It is up to the viewer to decide if they love or loathe the person - if it is a hero or a villain to them."

Ed, who lives in West Kirby, has been a full-time artist for the past six years.

While the 33 year old confesses to liking most types of art, he has always been particularly interested in portraiture.

He says that the "fragmented" results of the final piece of art mirrors the "fragmented nature" of our lives.

"The mosaic process begins with the selection of the subject and the style of portrait I am going to do, close-up or head and shoulders," explains Ed.

"Then I decide on the style of the work, whether it's to be a "photo-realistic mosaic" in sepia or black and white tones, or a more stylised portrait using bright comic book colours and even text.

"The next stage is to select the tiles themselves.

"Colours change according to what colour is next to them, therefore it is vital to get this colour selection correct as once the tile fragments are put in place, it's hard to remove them.

"If I want to change part of an ear of eye once I have fixed the tile in place, I have to smash the work apart to correct it; I can't just paint over where I want to improve."

After this he sketches out the image onto board.

Laborious

Ed describes this process as a laborious task which he has to do before he can get cracking - quite literally - and put the first mosaic pieces in place. He estimates that each work in the exhibition possesses 2,000 fragments of tile. But he has also created dozens of mosaics in paper, metal and glass, which lends the modern subject a contemporary look in a centuries-old medium.

He says: "I have studied the technique in depth and attempt to bring the medium of mosaic into the 21st century with my use of colour, sizes of mosaic pieces and different colours of grout. That's why most of the subjects are modern icons.

"I think the mosaic medium produces striking and interesting results, particularly with portraits, where the effects are dramatic and impressive."

Ed Chapman's exhibition Heroes and Villains opens this Thursday at the ArTzu Gallery in Virginia House, 5 Great Ancoats Street, The Northern Quarter, Manchester and runs until May 2. For more information, ring 0161 228 3001 or log on to www.artzu.co.uk

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