The Beauty of Bitesize: A Review of the 'Small is Beautiful' Exhibition

I’m probably not the only one who remembers the chapter in Gullliver’s Travels, when Gulliver journeys to Lilliput and is taken hostage by a population of citizens no more than six inches tall. Gulliver is amazed by the pygmy size of the Lilliputians, despite their cruelty towards him.

I understood Gulliver’s wonder as I ambled around the Small is Beautiful exhibit at 79 - 85 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, marvelling at the miniature world of 143 art pieces from 34 British and international artists. The showcase features art in a range of mediums: sculptures, photographs, embroidery, paper cutouts; models made of food and acrylic.

In case you’re not familiar with miniature art, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of three of the pieces that made the most lasting impressions, and the lessons they taught me.

1. The Shape of Water – Vincent Bal, 2022

Vincent Bal is the founder of “ombrology”, the play of shadows and light. His pieces make use of the placement of objects in front of lamps and spotlights, adding a twist of creativity to transform quotidian occurrences into snapshots of intrigue. Through his art, Bal has found a way to capture the ephemeral, making a fleeting moment last. The Shape of Water caught my eye with its simplicity and simultaneous detail: the tiles surrounding the pool, the sunshine yellow of the sun lounge, the wavy-haired swimmer hidden beneath the water’s surface. The pool itself is what brought back the nostalgic smell of chlorine from my days swimming laps for my local swim team. The shadow is layered on top of the swimmer, as if she is actually submerged in water. The shimmery texture results from the pebbled glass and gives the shadow just enough pattern to resemble the way light reflects off water, creating an image more realistic than the stroke of any pen.

Other works from Bal included: the shadow of a shoe which turns into a shower, oddly contrasting in its hygienic associations; there was a robber drawn from the shadow of a rubber duck; an owl with an outline provided by an apple core; probably more familiar to all of us who live in the UK – a man doing a COVID swab, his silhouette being the shadow of a bunch of LFTs.

Bal’s work is motivated by the philosophy that shadows, like clouds, are what we, as viewers, make of them. The artist’s rendition of his perspective irreversibly changes what we also see in the shape of the shadow. Ombrology made me consider my opinions, and how my perspectives may be coloured by others’. There is so much in art and in fashion which is subjective, yet through social media and the easy access to multimedia information sources, perhaps we’re more susceptible to conformity than we think.

I walked away from Bal’s section of the exhibition much more confident in my choice of multicoloured trousers.

2. Lombardia – Nils Lagergren, 2010 (Free scale)

The Lombardia isn’t only a model of a shipwreck, it is a shipwreck. Nils Lagergren is a Stockholm-based artist who began building model ships out of wood in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, before moving on to work with other materials. His Ghost Fleet collection was launched in 2010, and features an entire series of ships built by Lagergren, who then enlisted nature as his co-artist. Viewers may find it hard to believe that Lagergren sank his ships at about 3 metres deep in the Baltic Sea for years until time and the wild outdoors had worked its magic on the fleet. The mould, rot and other unidentified growth observable is strictly natural – a paragon of decay.

I found this exploration of desolation fascinating: we, as humans, are constantly drawn to the morbid. We find shipwrecks mysterious and exciting; ruins are monuments of historical symbolism; vintage thrift shops have become a marker of a free-spirited personality. Despite our attraction to the decrepit, we still seek to possess only brand new things: we buy clothes with tags still on them, books fresh out of the printer. There has been a 54% increase in surgical aesthetic plastic cosmetic procedures in the US between 2021 and 2020, around 94% of all procedures are undergone by women. As a society, we are constantly trying to look younger, fresher, and newer.

Looking at the Lombardia, which took 2-3 years underwater to age into this masterpiece, something dawned on me: what if the true beauty of objects is in the life it has lived and the “wreck of art” it has left behind?

3. Candy Beach – Minimiam, 2022 (Scale 1:87)

Many of you may also have fond memories of the Where’s Wally books – I know I did: I spent many weeknights pouring over the dense pages, racing my sister to find Wally and his odd band of friends. Experiencing Candy Beach by Franco-Japanese food art/photography duo Minimiam was a lot like playing a real-life game of Where’s Wally.

Firstly, almost the entire piece is made from sweets. There are lollipop trees, chocolate bar cliffs, marshmallow icebergs and water made of granulated sugar – my inner child was over the moon. Secondly, the dazzling colours brought the rainy London afternoon to life. This work of art stood out singularly against the rest of the exhibition, with its joy and pleasure, quite the contrast against some of the more sombre pieces on show.

The best part of Candy Beach was hands down the amalgamation of characters hidden amongst the saccharine landscape, with the accompanying list of figurines you’re encouraged to find. The queen waves back amongst a miniature McDonald's; you might see Cinderella having her shoe fitted next to Red Riding Hood running away from the Big Bad Wolf; Austin Powers might even be driving down the Fruit Roll-Up road (you might know it as Starburst’s Fruit by the Foot).

I couldn’t remember the last time I stepped back and really took in the detail – and I felt embarrassed that it took a forest of sweets to make me stop and really look. Minimiam’s collection of Food Art reminded me that we’re never too busy to take a break and enjoy the little things in life – how else would I have found the pirate treasure?

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Small is Beautiful was one of the most memorable and enjoyable afternoons I’ve had in a while – the variety and creativity on display was breathtaking, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to go home and learn how to make mini clay pancakes. I definitely recommend popping in for a visit if you have an hour to spare before the exhibition closes on 17th July. Bonus tip: don’t miss the six surprise miniature artworks concealed in plain sight around the venue!