Local artist Tat Vision unveiled a statue of “four lads in jeans” outside Birmingham’s New Street station on Saturday – in reference to a viral internet meme sparked by a photo taken a few years ago. The photo of Kevin Rooney, Alex Lacey, Jamie Phillips and Connor Humpage was taken before enjoying a night out in 2019, but went viral the following year. Kevin Rooney, Alex Lacey, Jamie Phillips and Connor Humpage’s Instagram post on a night out has gone viral Photo: Kevin Rooney/PA The photo of the four men dressed in tight jeans and posing awkwardly prompted many parodies and even a cartoon showing them singing a sea shanty. The artist said he hoped to pay homage to the four men, “inspired by these old Greek statues”, although his bronze was assembled using mannequins and papier-mâché. “It took me a couple of weeks to put it together,” Tat Vision told BirminghamLive. “I used four female mannequins, which I covered in tight female jeans and tops. The heads are made of papier-mache and everything was painted to have a nice, shiny bronze effect.” The artist said he was inspired by the much-lauded bust of Cristiano Ronaldo and the statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch located near Birmingham Library. The sculpture was unveiled outside All Bar One in the city, close to where the original photo was taken. It was built as part of the Birmingham Weekender art event in the city.
