Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

'Walk in wandering; walk out wondering' said the invitation to an exhibition at the Cornhill Walk Shopping Centre in Bury St Edmunds. Suffolk-based artist Ned Pamphilon was showcasing existing work as well as doing fresh paintings of King/Saint Edmund and a collage of images from the historic town.

St Edmund

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Suffolk broadcast an interview with the artist and two people who heard about the royal portrait went along to have a look.

John and Pamela Bateman liked the work so much they bought both the Bury-related pictures. The artist isn't disclosing the fee, but we're told it's less than Β£20,000.

Rather than stick the pcitures in their living room, the buyers are looking for a public venue to hang them in so that everyone can see them.

Portrait of the artist

Ned was born in 1963 and he grew up in Suffolk from 1967 onwards. His surname is Turkish and he says it could date back to 350 BC when a painter called Pamphilus was recorded or it could simply relate to the area of Pamphylia which is on the southern coast of Turkey.

St Edmund is his first painting done in Suffolk now that he's moved back after spending 10 years in Turkey. In that time he created the biggest ever portrait of Ataturk, who was the founder of modern Turkey.

"I'd done Ataturk, Colonel Gadhafi, Churchill, Marilynsinstein [a optical illusion where Albert Einstein turns into Marilyn Monroe as you walk backwards from the painting].

Detail from Bloomin' Bury

"I wanted to make a public impact and statement: St George isn't even English, St Edmund should be the Patron Saint of England!"

Ned Pamphilon's next show is in Redgrave - surviving wills of parishioners show that there was a chapel dedicated to St Edmund in the north aisle of St Mary's Church in 1471.

The show at the Church is on Saturday 4 October 2008 10am-5pm. The St Edmund portrait will be on show there.

Click on the links on the right for more features about St Edmund.