Micro artist sets world record for smallest sculpture

Emily Ford
BBC News
David A Lindon A silver disc holds the two microscopic red Lego bricks on it, with a brown rectangular strip - the strand of hair - to the side and the head of a needle leaning against it. The background of the image is purple.David A Lindon
Here the red four-spot and one-spot Lego bricks can be seen next to a pin and a strand of hair for comparison

A micro artist has set a new Guinness World Record for creating the smallest handmade sculpture.

David A Lindon, from Bournemouth, said the creation took months of planning and months of creating to bring to life.

He set the world record for his sculpture of a red Lego piece which measures 0.02517mm by 0.02184mm.

Mr Lindon, an engineer by trade who started work as a micro artist in 2019, says the sculpture is about the same size as a human white blood cell.

Jacqueline Lindon Mr Lindon looks directly at the camera. He is standing in front of a window, with a blue curtain drawn to the left of it. He has short brown hair and wears a pair of copper wire framed rectangular glasses, a deep blue blazer and a blue floral print on a white collared shirt.Jacqueline Lindon
David A Lindon is now working towards opening a new exhibition

He's become known for his work creating miniature pieces of art, including three microscopic re-creations of Van Gogh masterpieces on a watch mechanism which sold for £90,000.

Mr Lindon's latest creation, which was crafted from a piece of red Lego brick, was measured by the team at Evident Scientific using a light microscope.

It was then verified by Spectrographic Limited in Leeds as the smallest sculpture made in history.

The Lego brick is four times smaller than the previous record held by micro artist Dr Willard Wigan MBE - who was Mr Lindon's inspiration to try micro art - in 2017.

Listen: Meet the micro artist behind the world's smallest handmade sculpture

Mr Lindon said: "It's madness I know. I love the challenge, I love the discipline.

"I love the look of wonder and surprise on people's faces when they see my art for the first time. To see it in person, it blows your mind."

While Mr Lindon's work has previously fit into the eye of a needle, this record has surpassed that.

He continued: "The challenge to create tiny objects that can't be seen without a microscope is demanding both physically and mentally.

"I have trained myself to slow my breathing and work between the beats of my heart. Even the pulse of my heart beating through my fingers creates too much movement."

David A Lindon Side-by-side images of two needle eyes with David Lindon's artwork inside. The image on the left shows a black and white panda resting in some greenery with a blue background. The image on the right shows a Giraffe with a forest background.David A Lindon
Mr Lindon is launching his Smallest Zoo in the World exhibit in Poole in July

Mr Lindon created three sizes of Lego brick, using his own handmade microscopic tools, and worked six to 10 hours a night to avoid the vibrations of daytime traffic.

His eight-spot Lego brick was measured as the narrowest structure ever made, while the smaller four-spot brick broke the original record set in 2017.

But Mr Lindon also created a smaller, one-spot brick and broke his own record within 20 minutes.

All three sculptures are considered so microscopic they can't be seen with the human eye.

Mr Lindon is now working towards opening a new exhibition, The Smallest Zoo in the World, in Poole this summer.

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