Vik Muniz was born into a working-class family in Brazil in 1961. After studying advertising at the Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado in São Paulo, he moved to New York in 1983, where he has lived ever since. Muniz began as a sculptor, but his interest in the exploration of images, memory and perception made him turn to drawing and photography.

Muniz is best known for appropriating iconic images from art history and popular culture, which he then recreates with unusual materials before photographing them. The materials he uses to create these images range from sugar cane and diamonds to chocolate and even garbage. The textures he produces and the optical richness of the images he presents distinguish him from other photographers. The impact of his work on the contemporary art scene enabled him to present his first solo show in 1998 at the prestigious International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York and he was invited to represent Brazil at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001.

To create the work we see here, Muniz organized thousands of diamonds into a mesmerizing portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy, thereby eliciting her glamour through the use of precious gems, associated with wealth and status. It is also a testament to the infinite, regenerative potential of the creative image. His work has been exhibited extensively at prestigious museums such as the Tate Modern in London, the Modern Museum of Art, New York and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.