Artist creates animal sculptures so small they fit in eye of a needle

By Rukanah Mogra and Amy Reast via SWNS

A miniature artist has created the 'World's Smallest Zoo' - a series of wild animals so small they fit in the eye of a NEEDLE.

Micro artist David A. Lindon, 54, created a series of wild animals showcased in an exhibition – but they’re so small you need a microscope to see them.

It features endangered animals from an African elephant to a blue whale, and a giraffe to a tiny giant panda.

The 24 microscopic animals are ones from all over the world – including Madagascan rainforest, Egyptian deserts, African savannah, Arctic ice caps, and the Australian Great Barrier Reef.

The microscopic collection took two years of painstaking work to create – and required David to “enter a meditative state” and work between heartbeats to complete the tiny pieces.

Married David from Bournemouth, Dorset, said: “What keeps me going through the long hours is seeing my work finished and the look of wonder and astonishment on people’s faces, when they see my art in person for the first time.

“I get a huge sense of achievement having created something special, despite the many challenges working under such high magnification.”

David had to work six to ten hours at night to complete the project, to avoid vibrations from traffic which could ruin the work.

He explained that when working on such a small scale, one wrong move can send the tiny artworks flying.

He once created a microscopic Amy Winehouse artwork, which he then lost when he dropped it.

He said: "A single twitch from my fingers can wreck months of work.

"My hands still jump a little as my heart beats, so I work in a rhythm between each pulse.

"If I don’t concentrate all the time my fingers can accidentally flick weeks of work off from under the microscope and when it disappears from my sight, it will probably never to be seen again!

"Once a piece is lost, you can spend hours hunting around for it with a magnifying glass in your hand and still never find it!"

The artist has previously created micro versions of popular paintings such as The Girl with the Pearl Earring and Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.

David’s passion for his art began through watching others, after years of working for MoD.

He said: “I was first inspired by watching a TV program about miniature artists and the challenges they face - that changed my life.

“Having been trained to work on small complex devices I had developed steady hands and a good deal of patience.

“I knew then that I had to test my skills and challenge myself to create smaller and smaller things and eventually more complex creations than anyone else.”

The exhibition - hosted by Enjoy Wolverhampton BID and Hammond Galleries - showcases Lindon's largest collection of miniature masterpieces in an immersive experience.

Edward Hammond, founder of Smallest In The World and owner of Hammond Galleries in Shifnal, said: “Each microscopic sculpture is under 1mm in size and would be impossible to make by machine.

“It is really something you have to see to believe.”

David aims for the exhibition, which opens today (Fri) and runs to April 8, to highlight the conservation status of each animal, examine the challenges of survival and discuss the consequences of climate change.