Did you know that the Michelangelo’s David is 17 feet tall? Back in the 1500s, bigger equaled better, and larger than life sculptures were considered the industry standard. Don’t get me wrong, massive sculptures are awe-worthy, but what about a sculpture that can fit on the tip of an eyelash?

In the Nicole Gallery until 22 May, micro-sculptures that fit in the eyes of needles, on the tips of eyelashes and on doll house-size paper flowers are on display and ready to amaze you.

Charlie Chaplin on an Eyelash, seen through a microscope

The amazing artist who creates these tiny 8th wonders of the world is English-born Willard Wigan, and you really have to see them to believe them. The “Hollywood collection” of Wigan’s work is on display and can only be seen through a microscope. He makes his own tools and works in between heart beats.

Interested in how the heck one gets a statue the size of a pt. 6 TNR period secured to an eyelash, I asked Wigan how he did it. He told me that he created his own tiny drill by smashing a diamond and using the small chard to a microscopic hole in the foot of the Chaplin statue, and then inserting the eyelash into the hole. CRAZY!!!!

The Statue of Liberty in the eye of a needle, as seen through a microscope

A Hollywood lunch on a doll house-sized paper flower, as seen through a magnifying lens

A carving of the Mount Rushmore heads in the lead of a pencil, as seen through a magnifying lens

I know this guy is not a Chicagoan, but while his work is in town, it is totally worth the $5 to check it out! Get to it!!

Dev xx

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