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Artist Creates a Portrait of Beth Harmon From ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Out of Chess Symbols

By Margherita Cole on January 9, 2021

People all over the world have fallen in love with The Queen's Gambit‘s fascinating and brilliant lead, Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy). As a fan himself, Greek graphic designer Charis Tsevis dedicated a series of striking mosaic portraits to the Netflix star. “The Queens' Gambit is without a doubt the hit TV series of 2020,” Tsevis tells My Modern Met. “A year like no other showed us many unknown and unexpected aspects of the human soul identity and behavior. We have faced the most serious and concrete challenges of our lifetimes. Beth Harmon, The Queen’s Gambit‘s main character, looks like the perfect heroine for an era like ours.

“She comes from an older era but there are so many similarities. Her whole story can be used as a metaphor for what we are living in today. The Cold War, the personal losses, the loneliness, the struggle with her inner insecurities, needs, and addictions.” So, Tsevis dedicated the last months of 2020 to celebrating Beth Harmon in his recognizable mosaic style. He used dozens of chess symbols in subdued, vintage-inspired colors to render the actress' likeness. The pixelated effect is reminiscent of a chessboard, which holds a deep meaning for the TV show character. “What I love about mosaics is that they are built on a very basic, but power concept,” he explains. “You create something from something else. For instance, you use elements from a game like chess to create a portrait of a chess player. The more meaningful the bond between the whole and the part, the more successful a mosaic can be.”

Tsevis has made his beautiful mosaic portraits available to download for free via his Behance. You can keep up to date with the artist's latest projects by following him on Facebook and Instagram.