They are certainly revered by their legions of fans, but now football star David Beckham and his wife Spice Girl Victoria have moved onto a yet higher plane. The celebrity couple has been immortalised as Hindu deities in a painting by two Asian artists. The work will be part of a May exhibition designed to celebrate Manchester’s Commonwealth Games.
The happy family is shown sitting on a throne perched atop of pile of newspapers, with a crowned Becks portrayed as the multiple-armed Hindu god Shiva, holding designer sunglasses and a golden football. One of David’s four arms is around the waist of a tiara-wearing Victoria, who clutches a microphone in her role as the mountain goddess Parvati. The couple’s two-year-old son Brooklyn – in a baby Man U uniform – is Ganesh.
The twin sisters who created the work, Amrit and Rabindra Singh, say the portrait is not blasphemous and isn’t intended to be offensive. “We are using the language of religion, but it doesn’t mean we are saying they are gods in a spiritual sense but in a material sense… They are figures people follow just like gods in the Hindu religion,” says Amrit. “They are depicted as the ideal family within celebrity circles.”
The painting, created with materials from India, represents the mixture of cultures in Manchester, where this year’s games will be held. The artists also hope to show other pieces, including likenesses of boxer Naseem Hamed and tennis star Venus Williams, at a local gallery.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
