Exhibition on the pop culture power of Michael Jackson to open in Paris

An exhibition celebrating the pop culture power of Michael Jackson is scheduled to open in Paris on Friday featuring portraits by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, along with a video of a choir of amateurs belting out the singer's iconic "Thriller" album.

The exhibition "Michael Jackson: On the Wall" was originally shown at London's National Portrait Gallery but has come to Paris with new works added, including a greater focus on his impact on choreography. 

An artwork by Yan Pei-Ming is displayed during a press preview of the exhibition "On the Wall" dedicated to singer Michael Jackson at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, November 21, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

National Portrait Gallery Director Nicholas Cullinan says the late pop star's reach attracted a public who don't often visit London's galleries.

"In a way it's fitting that someone who cut through barriers and divides and cut across those and was very inclusive and one of the most popular figures, but also quite radical, that that was mirrored by the response to the show (in London). So 34 percent of the visitors had never been to the (National Portrait) gallery before, 34 percent were ethnic minority, 34 percent were under 24, not just under 40 or under 35 but under 24, and those are the audiences that certainly often museums in London struggle to attract and they came en masse for this show."

Elsewhere in the exhibition, artist Kehinde Wiley's "Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II (Michael Jackson)" was the last commissioned portrait of the singer before his death, and it shows him in regal mode, wearing armour and riding a horse.

Jackson, dubbed the 'King of Pop', died at the age of 50 in 2009 after an overdose of prescribed medicines.