Conor Collins creates Tom Daley portrait from anti-gay tweets

Conor Collins made his piece from homophobic insults sent to the Olympian

Olympic diver Tom Daley became an instant victim to social media trolling when he revealed he was gay in a candid YouTube video last December.

The homophobic backlash faced by the 19-year-old was widely criticised and now, Manchester-based artist Conor Collins has delivered his own creative response – a detailed portrait of Daley in front of the British flag, made entirely out of the cruel tweets he received.

Insults featured in the piece include "dirty fag" and "he's going to hell, it's Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve".

Collins tweeted a picture of his finished artwork before posting another message thanking people for their “overwhelming responses”.

Collins' artistic tribute shares similarities with another piece released earlier this month by Honey Maid. The US cracker manufacturer turned homophobic responses to their advert featuring same-sex couples into a sculpture spelling out the word “love”.

Daley’s initial announcement was met with positivity, but a deluge of anti-gay abuse soon followed when it emerged that he was in a relationship with Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

Shortly afterwards, Christian Concern founder Andrea Minichiello Williams angered gay rights campaigners when she urged people in Jamaica to keep same-sex intercourse illegal and reportedly suggested that Daley was gay because his father died.