Left: Jennifer O’Young, Where Corals Lie, 2022. Srtist’s book and box, dimensions variable; Right: Anna Warren, Below Zero 2023. Artist’s book, acrylic and pen, 7 x 10 x 1cm. Courtesy: the artists and Museum of Art and Culture Yapang, Booragul.

Look closely. In the world of the miniature, every detail is scrupulously held within a small material form. The attention paid to these small objects seem to empower them with otherworldly abilities, as they draw you in and keep you there.

To be entranced by small objects is not only a romantic tradition but a contemporary state of being. Working in the miniature can provide a source of feeling in control over an otherwise uncertain world. Today’s artists extend their miniature practices as a reflection of contemporary art and the everyday.

A Closer Look presents these intricate homages to the practice of the miniature and keeps this long-kept tradition alive in form and spirit.