Willard Wigan
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Willard Wigan (born 1957) is an internationally known sculptor from Birmingham, England.
He is the creator of the world's smallest sculptures, often taking months to complete one, working between heartbeats to avoid hand tremors. Wigan uses a tiny surgical blade to carve his microscopic figures out of rice, grains of sand and sugar, which are then mounted on pinheads. His sculptures have included a Santa Claus and a copy of the Football World Cup trophy, both about 0.005mm (0.0002in) tall, and a boxing ring with Muhammad Ali figure which fits onto the head of a match.
The 1993 British film An Eye On X follows Wigan's quest in carving two statues of American black activist Malcolm X, one life size and the other on the head of a toothpick.. The film was produced and directed by Pogus Caesar for Windrush Productions and broadcast on Carlton TV.
There are hours of rare film footage of Willard from 1993 in Windrush Productions archive. Includes Willard flying aircraft made out of thin balsa wood, carving on head of toothpick and talking about his early life.
It has been rumoured that Wigan may soon be retiring.
[edit] External links
- Wigan's website
- BBC Birmingham biography
- An Eye On X 1993 Film (Real media clip) Pogus Caesar / OOM Gallery Archive
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