Sycamore Gap tree featured in Chris Barker's art piece

Since 2016, Chris Barker has created a montage of famous people who have died over the years, which always goes viral on social media.

This year, among celebrities such as Tina Turner, and Paul O'Grady, he has also included the Sycamore Gap tree - which was featured in Kevin Reynolds 1991 film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

After the news of its illegal felling - Chris felt it was appropriate to feature it in this year’s piece.

"I always try and do a relevant background to my montage," the art director for a media company, Chris said.

"In previous years I have highlighted climate change, Notre Dame cathedral burning, the war in Ukraine and the farcical Donald Trump press conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

"Initially this year I was going to do a Barbie beach background, all pink and palm trees, but it didn't feel appropriate considering the subject matter.

"The Sycamore Gap story just seemed very poignant and as soon as I'd got it on page it just felt right.

"Then obviously with the situation in Gaza I needed to represent that too and planted two opposing flags in "England's green and pleasant land" seemed to work well and highlight the fact that it is just two groups of people senselessly killing each other on a bit of land.

"This is the eighth one of these I’ve done which - for something I vowed back in 2016 I was never going to do again - is quite something.

"I did the initial montage because 2016 was such a monumental year. The triple whammy of Brexit, Donald Trump being elected and David Bowie dying - as well as all the other legends that died that year - felt like something that needed to be commemorated in some way.

"But then people started suggesting I should do it every year and every year I was convinced.

"I tried to stop in 2020 but then there was the pandemic and lockdown and everything and I got the feeling people wanted me to do it again to keep some kind of normality.

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"There are people out there who look forward to it like an end-of-year tradition and, weirdly, I don’t want to let them down.

"I do keep a list over the year now. I used to just cram it all in about November time. But it has got too big now. I started choosing the pictures about four months ago because I knew there was such a lot this year.

"I know it’s a very sad topic, it’s a very strange hobby and I don’t know how I’ve ended up as this weird custodian of international grief, but people do seem to like it so I’m kind of stuck with it now!"