Painting faces in search of myself and my mum
Juano Diaz was taken in to care aged six, his mother was battling alcoholism and he wasn't being cared for. But Juano missed his mum and with no photos of her, he became obsessed by drawing her face so he wouldn't forget her. He was later adopted by a strict Catholic and Romany Gypsy family but when he came out as gay he was asked to leave. Now down-and-out on the streets of Glasgow, with his life spiralling, he started to search for his mother again. He would scan faces in the crowds, draw his own face to explore his features, feminise them to look more like his mum and soon he discovered his talent for portraiture. Today, he paints the faces of modern icons: Pharell Williams, Madonna, Vivienne Westwood. This would lead to artistic success and a very different lifestyle – including a friendship with Grace Jones and ultimately a whole new family.
Juano’s memoir is called Slum Boy.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Andrea Kennedy
Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784
- Datum:
- Duur:
Gerelateerde podcastafleveringen
/http%3A//ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0j4p1wr.jpg)
Meer afleveringen van Lives Less Ordinary
-
Meeting the monster: My 14 days with Joseph Kony
In Judith Obina Okumu's imagination, Joseph Kony was a monster. As leader of the Lord's Resistance Army he'd fought a decades-long war against the government of Yoweri Museveni – displacing and destroying hundreds of thousands of lives... -
The Grandmother of Juneteenth, still battling for change at 98
Opal Lee is now affectionately known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth. She led the campaign for the 19th June, the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas were finally told that they were free, to be declared a national holiday. As... -
The man who woke up in the future
When Dr Pier Piccioni woke up after a car accident, 12 years of his life had been erased. Dr Pierdante Piccioni is an unwilling time-traveller. Twelve years of his life were completely wiped from his memory after he suffered brain...