Micro artist creates 'invisible to eye' sculpture

A micro artist says he has beaten his own world record by creating the smallest handmade sculpture ever.

David A Lindon, from Bournemouth, Dorset, says his latest sculpture, The Yellow Smiley Face, is "invisible to the human eye", with measurements of only 11.037 by 12.330 microns.

Mr Lindon said his artwork lived on a first-class stamp on a micro dot on the eye of the late Queen.

It has now broken his previous smallest handmade sculpture world record, The Lego Brick.

Mr Lindon, who has 12 Guinness World Records in total, is 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.

The Red Lego Brick measures 0.02517mm by 0.02184mm.

"My Yellow Smiley Face artwork is half the size of my Red Lego Brick artwork, which in turn was already four times smaller than the previous record," the artist said.

He said it was the same size as either a human blood cell, mould spores, bacteria, talcum powder and a fog droplet.

Other of Mr Lindon's tiny creations include unique animals crafted within the eye of a needle, from a blue whale to a delicate peacock butterfly.

"I probably am completely bonkers," he jokes.

The stamp where Yellow Smiley Face lives is mounted on a glass tower and housed inside a sealed glass box.

Mr Lindon said he was grateful to Dr Sarah Elliott and Jack Rose from Bournemouth University for measuring the new world record.

He said he created a micro sculpture of a graduation certificate being grasped by the hand of a newly qualified student, which is "less than a millimetre wide and set on a solid gold plinth".

The artist added the artwork would be gifted to the university "to inspire future generations".