Daily Weird News Report
A mural celebrating snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan has become an unlikely talking point in Sheffield, England, after viewers said the painted portrait looked more undead than athletic.
The artwork covers the side of the Spot On snooker club. According to Boing Boing, locals and snooker fans reacted online with descriptions ranging from “zombie” to “terrifying.” One person initially suspected the image might have been generated by artificial intelligence, then visited the club and found that the mural was real.
The mural’s artist, Chris Ashmore, has said the work is still unfinished. Dan Kirkland, manager of Spot On, also defended the project while acknowledging that parts of the portrait require revision. In comments reported by Boing Boing, Kirkland said the areas around O’Sullivan’s eye and mouth particularly need tweaking, adding that relatively small changes could make a substantial difference.
The image is based on a photograph of O’Sullivan. That may offer some explanation for the portrait’s intense appearance, although the mural has clearly struck viewers as more alarming than commemorative in its current state.
With Ashmore yet to complete the work, the mural’s final appearance remains to be seen. For now, the painting has given the Sheffield club a distinctive landmark—and O’Sullivan an unusually eerie place in street art.
