Today, while reading Embracing the Ordinary by Michael Foley (which is brilliant, by the way) I stumbled across ‘street artist’ Slinkachu.
I’m surprised that I haven’t seen this person’s work before because it is quirky, original, and fun and very ‘me’ if I may say that.
Slinkachu is a cross between a yarn bomber and the child in a grown up body. He (I’m assuming he is male) places his little scenes made up of ordinary urban objects and model people (usually purchased for Hornby train sets) around London, photographs them and leaves them to fate, human intervention and nature.
The people he uses cost about £2 each and are then painted and positioned. Each scene contains an implied narrative – a lady relaxing on a swing, a skier speeding down the slopes, a business presentation, or a tussle over money outside the Bank of England.
The scenes are set using everyday objects: litter, bollards, corners of walls, puddles, weeds, and holes.
I like the unobtrusiveness of this art and also the fact that it has the capacity to reach everyone. It is art outside of the gallery. The viewer doesn’t actively pursue the art, they fall upon it (or pass by it). There are no restrictions and there is no frame. This sort of art is hidden (in this sense by scale) and is only visible to the observant amongst us (i.e. those that are not blind to the ordinary).
He began creating his unique style of installation art in 2006 and is still at it in 2015.
References
‘Tiny art: Slinkachu makes his miniature street scenes’ 10 October 2015 The Guardian. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/10/tiny-art-miniature-street-scenes-slinkachu [last accessed 12 July 2015]