Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Get ready to throw everything you imagined about miniature art out the window. British artist Jonty Hurwitz recently created a sculpture so small that it cannot be seen with the naked eye and is considered the smallest human form sculpture ever created. Measuring a tiny 20 x 80 x 100 micrometres, the tiny statue is part of a series of equally tiny works that have a scale equivalent to how long your nails grow in 6 hours.

The sculpture can only be seen through an electron microscope and was produced using an advanced 3D printing technology called multiphoton lithography using a laser capable of performing the two-photon absorption (ADF) process. By this technique, the light fixture solidifies the traces of the object into a light sensitive monomer or polymer gel block, allowing the rest of the material to be removed when washed.

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Honey, I shrunk the art: Briton makes sculpture smaller than a hair

Because the ADF method happens at the small focal point of the laser, it essentially gives rise to a tiny three-dimensional pixel (called a voxel) at its junction. The laser is then moved for almost an insignificant distance by computerized controls and forms the next voxel, an action that repeats at length until the sculpture is fully formed.

Pregruit Fruit

For Hurwitz, his work is a collective achievement of all mankind and the culmination of thousands of years of research and development. “We live in an age when the impossible has finally come true. In our own little way we became demigods of creation. Contemporary art, in my humble vision, needs to reflect the human condition as it is today, to represent the state of society at the moment of its creation, ”he says.

According to the artist, his sculptures “Trust”, “Cupid and Psyche: The First Kiss” and “Intensity” explore the idea of ​​science versus legend, myths and reality. He points out that it is impossible to see his works without the use of electron microscopes, which require a screen and a mouse to show something separated from the public by a vacuum and a series of impressive mathematical quantum processes. “The line between myth and science is narrow, ” he points out.

Check out the gallery in the middle of the text for detailed images of the three sculptures and the making of "Trust." Also be sure to watch the video above with an interview with Hurwitz, where he provides more details about his creations.