Pop singer Robbie Williams is making his first foray into the world of fine art alongside such artistic heavyweights as Kurt Schwitters, Claes Oldenburg and Peter Blake.
His works, two collages inspired by the pop art movement of the 1960s and 70s, form part of the exhibition About Collage at the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, which runs for 10 months.
One work, untitled but with references to Elvis Presley, features cutout texts from Playboy and the Sun, including the phrases: "Dear Mr Williams, forgive this written intrusion into your home," and "Possibly the worst singer in Christendom."
The other, also untitled, features a single by Take That - the boy band with whom Williams launched his career - alongside newspaper cuttings and pictures of showgirls.
Not many artists can claim to have shown their first creations at a major exhibition, but it helps to have made friends with one of the leading proponents of pop art.
Williams met Peter Blake, who is curating the exhibition, after the singer bought the W.C. Fields head which the artist created for the cover of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
In true pop fashion, Blake admired Williams' tattoos, invited him to his studio, and from their friendship came Williams' first attempt at art.
Blake, who is now judging potential exhibits for the Royal Academy summer exhibition, told Heat magazine that Williams was thrilled to be in the show, which also includes many of his own works.
"Robbie's piece adds another dimension to the show," Blake said. "The mood I get when I look at it is that he's been quite hurt by the press - that and the fact that he's obviously a fan of Elvis."
Blake said he had included Williams' works because he hoped that they would encourage people to come to the exhibition and enjoy something they might not otherwise visit.
He said that when the mercurial Williams had come to his studio he had been cheered by experimenting with a new medium.
"I think it was a bit of a down day for him," Blake said. "He has ups and downs. But he felt very cheered when he left after two hours."
Blake's interest in the world of pop music has continued long after his iconic Sgt Pepper cover. He has remained good friends with Sir Paul McCartney, and has since designed the cover for Paul Weller's album Stanley Road and a poster for Live Aid.
The About Collage exhibition also contains a "rarely-seen" collage by John Lennon and a 22-minute "sound collage" by McCartney.
In the latest edition of Who's Who Blake lists one of his hobbies as going to rock concerts.
It is quite common for singers and other entertainers to turn their attention to the visual arts, though certainly less common for them to be exhibited by major galleries.
McCartney recently revealed his own 70-strong collection of paintings, created over 17 years, which were exhibited last year in Germany. His wife, Linda, had exhibited her photography regularly.
Pop stars David Bowie and Brian Eno are among those who have designed postcards displayed in the annual Absolute Secret exhibition at the Royal College of Art.
A spokeswoman for the Tate Liverpool said that Blake's curatorship of the exhibition, and Williams' inclusion places the collection between pop music and pop art.
But art critic Brian Sewell was not impressed by Williams' efforts, describing them not as art, but "merely therapy."
"Tearing pieces of paper and sticking them on things goes back to potty training," Sewell said. "Messing about with your own shit is the first aesthetic impulse that a lot of children have, and you then move on to something that is sticky and messy and unmanageable in exactly the same way that shit may be," he told Heat.
"It's absurd to put work of this childish character in the same bracket as the great collage-makers.
"Stop it now - that's my advice to him. Stick to singing, if that's what you call it"
- INDEPENDENT
Maybe Robbie should stick to his singing
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