Queen Elizabeth portrait made with solider name tapes

A portrait of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has been made using the name tapes of soldiers killed in WW1.
Joy Pitts spent 136 hours making the artwork of the 89-year-old monarch, which shows her wearing a purple cardigan, using fabric tags stitched with the names of the brave fallen servicemen and woman who fought in World War One.
Speaking to the BBC, Joy said of the portrait: “It took me 136 hours to assemble and I used 125 grams of dressmaker pins, which is quite a lot.
“It hurts your fingers, it’s quite intense, but I like the idea of pinning them because it goes back to the idea of the clothing and the process of making.”
The talented artist decided to get to work on the piece after being inspired by the Queen’s reconciliation message at Christmas, which recalled the festive truce of 1914.
Joy has named the portrait Reconciliation and will display it as part of the Wirksworth Festival until later this month.
Queen Elizabeth – who became the longest reigning monarch last week – penned Joy a letter after seeing the portrait, stating she was “very touched” by the masterpiece.