Jamie Cooper: The artist behind the 125 Dream Scene
Jamie Cooper is the artist who has been entrusted with presenting the essence, spirit and history of Liverpool Football Club in one piece of art.
A former professional Australian rules football player, Cooper turned his hand to painting after hanging up his boots 20 years ago.
He has since built a reputation for creating composite portraits telling the stories of several celebrated sporting organisations.
Reflecting on the task he has been given by the Reds, Cooper said: "It is a great honour to have been entrusted with this challenge and responsibility. It is one that I take very seriously.
"As a professional footballer in my homeland of Australia, I have a deep understanding of what a football club means to its community.
"A club like Liverpool FC has meaning far beyond what happens on the field. It is a community, a family that extends far beyond the boundaries of the white lines.”
Cooper’s Dream Scene painting will be officially unveiled at an event at the club’s Anfield store on November 16 before being put on public display the following day.
Fans will also be able to get their hands on copies of the composition, which has been painstakingly put together by an artist dedicated to capturing the past, present and future of LFC.
"I travelled across the world several times to meet with people in and around the club to get a sense of what the Reds culture is about,” Cooper added.
"I listened, read and gathered information for months before any paint brushes were picked up.
"My endeavour was to not only to bring them together, but to tell a story, to imagine what these characters would have said to each other, what tales they would have told and what personalities would have been drawn together in this impossible gathering.
"As football fans, wouldn’t we love to walk amongst them, to mingle with them as they celebrate playing the greatest game of all."