The artwork took 120 hours to make
A graphic designer has crafted an extraordinary piece of art depicting The Beatles using over 24,000 screws. Darren Timby, from Sunderland, dedicated around 120 hours to meticulously planning and creating the artwork, which he finished on October 9.
It features the iconic quartet – George Harrison, John Lennon, Sir Ringo Starr, and Sir Paul McCartney – complete with microphones, drumsticks, and a Gibson guitar head. To achieve the necessary depth for the piece, Timby used only zinc (silver), gold-coloured, and black screws against a white backdrop, sticking to “four tones” to ensure the subjects are recognisable.
“I always need to work in head and shoulders on the subject – and this particular one of them portrays all of them from their head to their shoulders,” he explained to the PA news agency. The process began with selecting an image of The Beatles and determining a “sensible size” for the artwork, which turned out to be six feet by three feet.
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“Then I’ll work backwards to create a guide which can be mathematically marked out”, he added. Throughout the creation, Mr Timby drilled in each screw with precision, frequently stepping back to compare his work to the chosen photograph to ensure accuracy, reports Chronicle Live.
He described adding the screws to the outline as the “fun part” and expressed particular enjoyment in crafting the microphones and guitar head.
“They were things that were not in the photo I picked – but I added them to give some depth to the piece rather than having a load of shirt pockets and shoulders in there,” he said. “I know there are some really iconic images of them such as them walking over the zebra crossing on Abbey Road, but to do that I would need a factory wall to produce the right quality.”
The creation process wasn’t without its challenges, with Mr Timby admitting: “I was doing the eyes and facial expressions on John and Ringo and then I thought, there’s not much contrast in here. As soon as I flooded their hair with all the black and dark-coloured screws, it changed the faces.”
He added: “Sometimes it’s just trusting your artwork in the first place and the brain just sorts the rest out.”
His Beatles artwork has been viewed by thousands across various social media platforms, including Facebook.
“The best thing for me is when people see them and to see their reactions and to watch them scratch their heads,” he expressed. “I love the variety of questions I get – it always starts with how? How do you begin to plan it and measure it? ” This is his 12th screw creation, having previously recreated artists including Elvis, Amy Winehouse and the Gallagher brothers, as well as Elizabeth II.
“When I get about three quarters of the way through, I tend to slow down because I don’t want to finish them,” he confessed.
He shared his creative process, saying whenever he replicates artists, he immerses himself in their music: “I just lose myself in the whole thing.”
His journey into screw art began in 2020, finding it a source of solace: “I find it very therapeutic,” he said.
“I did Marilyn Monroe in memory of my dad as she was one of his favourite actresses, so that was the first one.”
He explained his transition into this unique art form: “I’m not quite sure how I got into the whole concept but I work in pixels a lot, being a graphic designer, and I enjoy making things with my hands, so the two seemed to go together well and it seemed like a good tool to create what I wanted to in a practical way.”
He also mentioned that his screw art pays tribute to Sunderland’s industrial heritage: “Ship building and coal mining are all part of our history and the screw art is almost like a nod to where I’m from,” he stated. ” he added. Us Sunderland folk are known as Mackems as in we make things.”
He acknowledged the support of local companies JT Dove and Nordstrom Timber, who sponsored materials such as screws and timber for his artwork.
Mr Timby’s Beatles piece is currently available for purchase for any enthusiasts of the iconic band.
