Nathan Wyburn
Nominated for Culture and sport award
Nathan Wyburn is an innovative Welsh artist who uses his love of art to connect with people and communities by creating paintings with a strong message from a variety of materials that have caught the public’s imagination. Originally from Ebbw Vale, Nathan shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent by painting a portrait of Simon Cowell using marmite. Since then, Nathan has developed a career as a contemporary artist, whilst helping to inspire young people by teaching art in schools, as well carrying out charity work.
During the past year, his portrait of a nurse in full PPE created out of tiny images of Health workers has become one of the iconic images of the COVID-19 pandemic, not just in the UK but all over the world. The image has also been hung all over the UK and field hospitals including the Dragon’s Heart hospital at The Principality Stadium and Nathan also used the image to raise money for NHS charities. Through his art, Nathan has communicated strong messages whilst raising the profile of Wales internationally.