The iconic and dramatic artwork of a skull that adorns the main
living room of 221B is a unique piece created by British artist
John Pinkerton. Not for sale, it is loaned by John to the Sherlock
production department for filming.
John was very kind to write us a piece on the fascinating
history on the creation of the painting, how it is constructed, and
just how it came to feature on the wall of 221B:
"I guess the original inspiration for it came whilst in the
former Yugoslavia, I worked out there for an NGO (Non Governmental
Organisation) during the Balkans war in 1994-1996, with an outfit
called 'The Serious Road Trip' . I was a truck driver
and we delivered emergency aid to the areas the UN had either
deemed too dangerous or had just plain forgotten about.
"The truck I inherited when I first arrived had a' skull in
a cowboy hat' sticker in the windscreen with blazing terrifying
eyes and 'the south will rise again' over a confederate flag,
(dreadful I know, the south should stay exactly where it is as far
as I'm concerned). For the first few trips I made I was very aware
of those eyes boring into me, just waiting for me to make a
mistake, I didn't remove it for three months and by the time I did
the skull image had, what with one thing and another, imprinted
itself very firmly on my subconscious. For the remaining two years
I was there,I could always feel those eyes on me whenever I climbed
into the cab. It has been a fascination ever since, sinister
connotations aside it is a darkly beautiful design that seems to
strike a chord in all of us.
"I had a skull cast in resin and used that for some
preliminary works but in the end based the final piece on the most
popular Google image. Death, like Google, will get to us all
eventually.
"The piece itself is actually two skulls, a black one painted
onto a blue marbled background on cut plywood and a silver one
(silver leaf) on cut perspex placed slightly above. Four bolts
separate the two sections making it a bugger to clean!
"How long did it take?.......well to get to the finished
product from original inspiration about fifteen years!
"How much would it cost?...... I'm afraid it's not for sale.
There is a version using copper leaf over a dark graphite backing
but I have no intention of producing any more.
"As for how it made it into Sherlock's front room......I am
fortunate to have some of my work on display in one of the major
prop-houses in London and a fair amount is featured in various
films and TV productions . The Sherlock art department made some
inquiries as to whether I had anything suitable for the show. I
submitted five pieces, four were placed on the set, the skull not
selected. It was waiting on a table to be packed away and returned
to me when it caught the director's eye."
You can see the other pieces of art that John submitted for the
Pilot episode in this page dedicated to Sherlock on his
website.
For more information on John and his stunning artwork visit his
website www.hangemall.com and facebook page.
While not an exact match to John's stunning piece, we've created
our own approximation of the skull print
as a free download. You'll have to print and mount it yourself
to achieve the full onscreen effect though. At full size, it
displays at 40cm x 51cm.