The Portraits of 42 American Presidents was completed last year in New York and holds the world record for most portraits in the smallest area. Somehow, Jin managed to give each president a vivid expression in a face with a diameter less than 0.4mm. Each face is distinct and recognizable.
Jin has created over 100 micro-paintings and carvings on different-colored hair, ivory and diamonds, and his works extend the traditional Chinese art of engraving and miniscule calligraphy. In an e-mail interview, Jin explained that micro-painting has a long history in China and was done in pictographs on animal bones and tortoise shells. Jin called these Shang Dynasty inscriptions "the earliest mature writing" in China.
|