Michael Davydov places his handmade tiny houses, trees, moons and barns in precarious worlds. Inspired by architecture and nature growing up in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod, he began to sketch and create little sculptures. He was soon making miniature worlds in which buildings and nature come together.
The thing with small is that it can look inadequate. On a table top or bookshelves, his work could appear endearing in a childlike way and a little sweet. But when encased in glass domes and vials, the same work takes on a fairy-like quality, a bit of timeless magic, as if he’s not been building, but collecting and preserving wonderful things the rest of us have missed.
“I come from a small town in central Russia, located on a riverbank and surrounded by forests. I lived there until my student years and often spent time outdoors – this partially influenced my work and became an integral part of it.”
– Michael Davydov
“One day, I became fascinated with bonsai art, as well as creating florariums—miniature ecosystems under glass. Working with living material led me to master the art of imitation — that’s how I describe my approach to miniatures. I replaced live plants and moss with driftwood and synthetic greenery, using my own recipes, and began creating miniature landscapes in lamps and test tubes. Against the backdrop of long journeys and distance from my homeland, tiny architecture appeared in my worlds. As an image of home and refuge, I tried to “congeal” these memories in the themes of my works.”
– Michael Davydov
Via: DailyDoll, Michael Davydov
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