An eye-catching Manchester City-inspired mosaic is expected to fetch thousands of pounds when it goes under the hammer this week [December 17].

Mark Kennedy, the creator of the artwork, has teamed up with Liverpool-based building products manufacturer, Palace Chemicals, and hopes the piece will help inspire people to safely get outside, following a year of uncertainty and heartache amid the pandemic.

53-year-old Mark says the quality of his work wouldn’t be as good without the ‘kit’ he uses himself – which includes LATICRETE and Palace Chemicals products, all produced in Liverpool.

Bosses at the firm are supporting the auction and are as eager as Mark to find out how much the piece will sell for.

Known as Manchester’s Mosaic Man, Mark’s well-known work has already been used by Puma as the inspiration behind the Sky Blues’ 2020/21 home kit.

Now a mosaic of the team shirt is set to be auctioned off to raise money for The Lord Mayor of Manchesters’ Charity Appeal Trust – We Love MCR Charity.
It comes just two years after a mosaic Mark made of one of ex-City skipper Vincent Kompany’s most memorable goal-scoring moments raised £26,000 to combat homelessness in the city.

The one-metre-square shirt artwork is currently on display in the window of the Classic Football Shirts Shop in Deansgate, Manchester.

It forms part of the 50 Windows of Creativity art trail, which celebrates Manchester’s culture of creativity and is held in association with the Bee in the City initiative.

The works will be sold in an online charity auction hosted by TV auctioneer Charles Hanson from 7pm on Thursday, December 17 at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester.

Mark, of Ancoats, just a stone’s throw from the Etihad Stadium, said the guideline price for submissions was between £50 and £15,000. Bids for the piece on the auction site start at £3,000.

He added: “Before the pandemic, the ballroom in the hotel would be full of people enjoying themselves, but these are unprecedented times and we are having to rely on people who are generally interested in these pieces, rather than those getting carried away with the experience of the auction.

“I just make things. I have no sentimentality – I just hope the mosaic makes some money. I also hope people will get a lot out of the trail and get to see the city in a safe socially distanced way.”

Charles Clapham, Managing Director of Palace Chemicals, said: “We have been a great supporter of Mark for many years and are delighted that his work could fetch lots of money for charity.”

To register your interest in the auction, visit https://beeinthecitymcr.co.uk/auction/ and to find out more about Palace Chemicals, visit www.palacechemicals.co.uk