Travelling through London every day can become a real routine for all us commuter types. You almost turn into a robot, pre-programmed on your journey. I don’t know about you, but every day, I pretty much get the same train, stand in the same place, get off at the same station and walk the same roads.
London’s ever changing creative urban landscape is fascinating however. Just a slow walk from Farringdon tube to our office in Clerkenwell is a mini art excursion in itself. The walls are littered with witty and amusing stencilled pictures, and the lampposts are a sticker makers very own blank canvas.
Last summer, I was walking through the backstreets of Islington on my way to a meeting, when I felt a small crunch under foot. Normally I would carry on, but for some reason I stopped to look around. What I saw, was 2 tiny little army soldiers. They were beautifully painted and didn’t look like the sort of thing a child might have dropped. I popped them onto a ledge, and carried on my journey not really giving it another thought.
Later that day, while checking my email, I noticed a really interesting new book by artist Slinkachu. I’d never heard of him, or his work before, but it looked fantastic. Slinkachu takes amazing macro photography of tiny toy figures in “grown up” situations, more often than not, urban landscapes.
He takes everyday rubbish, discarded drinks cans, crisp packets etc, and makes an amazing tiny urban scene using the sort of props you might be more used to seeing at a model train exhibition.
Skateboarders using orange peel as a half-pipe ramp, snails covered in graffiti and even a minature pope praying at the church of the coke can are just some of the wonderful scenes set.
With a bit of googling and research, it seems slinkachu has been creating his “mini worlds” for quite some time on the streets and alleyways of the UK, and the world. The photographs are incredible. But the real hook is the accompanying image, which shows the scale of the original photo. Its at that point you really can appreciate how much time, thought and patience must go into each scene.
Much like all the best creative ideas, this is a simple one, perfectly executed.
Slinkachu’s blog is fantastic. Pages full of beautifully engineered mini worlds right under our feet. Not only has this work made it to two books, but it’s also on display in the Andipa Gallery in Knightsbridge, alongside the likes of David Hockney and Damien Hirst.
So next time you’re walking home and you hear a crunch under foot, take a second to make sure you haven’t just unwittingly ended the life of an anonymous urban art installation!