The artist behind a viral mural of snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan has defended the artwork after it was criticised by viewers and social media commenters as “zombie-like” and “skeletal”.
Local artist Chris Ashmore was commissioned by club owner Dan Kirkland to paint the mural of O’Sullivan, which is 30ft tall, for a wall of the Spot On Snooker Club on Langsett Road in Sheffield, near the famous Crucible.
It has since gone viral online, with one user on social media commenting, “didn’t know zombie snooker was a thing”, while another said it looked like “the corpse of Ronnie O’Sullivan”. Another said the seven-time world champion “looked like a primate”, while one local resident said the rendering of him had a “skeletal face”.
Ashmore explained that he had only completed two of the five weeks’ work he had scheduled for the artwork, and that “touch-ups” were required.
He also said that as he had had to work from a scaffolding platform his view of the painting was obstructed.
He said: “I usually use a scissor lift, where you can stand back and see things as a whole, but I couldn’t use it as the land is too uneven. When the scaffolding came down, I came away and boom – it’s gone viral.
“I saw people saying it looks like Michael Jackson or a zombie. I’ve got thick skin, I’ll be OK, but it didn’t feel fair.”
Kirkland defended the artwork and called for a more tolerant response online, saying: “Yes, we’ve seen what you’ve seen. There are parts of the face that need tweaking, particularly around the eye and mouth.
“Some relatively small changes will make a huge difference, so we’ll arrange whatever access Chris needs.
“What has upset us is seeing some of the reactions becoming personal towards Chris.
“People are absolutely entitled to like or dislike a mural. But having an opinion about a piece of artwork is one thing. Slagging off the person who created it is another.”
O’Sullivan most recently competed at the Wuhan Open, where he reached the semi-finals before losing 6-3 to China’s Chang Bingyu.
