Willard Wigan MBE is a British sculptor renowned for creating micro miniature sculptures, minute works of art that are typically placed in the eye of a needle or on the head of a pin. Born in June 1957 in Ashmore Park Estate, Wednesfield, England, to Jamaican immigrant parents, Wigan's journey to becoming a world-renowned artist is a testament to perseverance, dedication, and the power of embracing one's unique abilities.
As a child, Wigan faced challenges in school due to dyslexia and ASD, conditions that were not diagnosed until adulthood. He was often ridiculed by his primary school teachers for struggling to read. However, instead of succumbing to the negativity, Wigan found solace and inspiration in the microscopic world.
His fascination with miniatures began at the age of five. Growing up in Wolverhampton, he was captivated by insects. After his dog destroyed an ant nest, Wigan, feeling devastated, started building little houses for the ants using wood splinters and leaves. He then progressed to making tiny cups and saucers from silver foil, imagining that leprechauns would use them at the bottom of the garden.
Wigan attributes his early drive in sculpting to his need to escape from the derision of teachers and classmates. He wanted to show the world that nothing did not exist, deducing that if people were unable to view his work, then they would not be in any position to criticize it.
His mother played a crucial role in nurturing his talent. When she saw his miniature creations, she told him that the smaller he made things, the bigger his name would become. This encouragement fueled his passion and set him on the path to micro-sculpture.
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Wigan has been creating micro sculptures for 50 years. Over the years, his work has evolved significantly from its rudimentary beginnings. As a teenager, he began experimenting with new materials, and his designs became more intricate.
A pivotal moment occurred when he was 15. While watching a religious TV program with his mother, he heard the saying: “It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” His mother then gave him a needle and challenged him to put a camel in there.
Using a secondhand microscope he had received as a gift, Wigan chipped away at a piece of nylon thread with a broken piece of a razor blade. He created what looked like a camel - though he admits it resembled more a cross between an elephant and a giraffe - and managed to squash it through the eye of a needle. Although his mother said she didn’t think it was small enough, she usually said that when she saw his work, which encouraged him to make things smaller and smaller.
Wigan's micro-sculptures are crafted from a variety of materials, including 24-carat gold. He bends, carves, and manipulates these materials using tools that he makes himself. These tools include diamond fragments mounted on hypodermic syringes, pliers made from hairs, eyelashes, and nylon fibers. He even uses threads of spider web for bindings and glue, and eyelashes and strands of dog hair as paintbrushes.
The creation process is painstaking and requires immense focus and control. Wigan sometimes works for 16 hours a day without breaks, and it can take him up to three months to finish a single sculpture. To maintain the necessary steadiness, he has learned to hold his breath during the sculpting process and slow his heartbeat to control finger tremors. He even enters into a meditative state to work between his heartbeats! He admits that the process isn't enjoyable until he has finished.
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While Wigan does not keep other artists' work in his home, he draws inspiration from masters such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. He noted the necessity to ensure, for example, that the horse in the Prince Albert sculpture was perfectly and equally proportioned from its head to its hooves and tail, and then to ensure that Prince Albert was perfectly placed into the saddle with his boots into the stirrups. He admires the dedication and time these artists invested in their creations, noting that while he may take several months to create a piece, these masters could take years.
Wigan's choice to work in micro-sculpture stems from his early childhood experiences and his desire to create something unique and awe-inspiring. He explains that the appeal lies not in the creating the work, because this is painstaking.
He finds satisfaction in the reactions his work elicits from viewers. He enjoys seeing the look of awe on their faces, especially when they swear the first time they see his work. This "wow" factor is particularly meaningful to Wigan, who was once told he would amount to nothing. “Now I’m showing how big nothing is,” he tells Washington Post Staff Writer DeNeed L.
Willard Wigan's talent and dedication have earned him numerous accolades and recognition throughout his career.
Despite his success, Wigan has faced his share of challenges and setbacks. One time, a fly landed on a Cinderella carriage sculpture he was working on, and the fly’s wings blew it away. He couldn’t find it again, and it broke his heart for a long time. Another time, he accidentally inhaled a microscopic Alice while making an Alice in Wonderland sculpture. Instead of giving up on the piece, Wigan created a second Alice and finished the piece. “The second one I’d done was even better.” Just like his work, his view on setbacks and achievements is inspiring, especially for someone who looks to triumph over adversity. He sees a mistake as just a step in the path to success. “I’ve never actually failed, because when I work, I put a challenge to myself,” he tells NPR’s Liane Hansen in a radio interview. “I never really fail. If I fail, I come back again.
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Wigan was diagnosed with autism as an adult. Looking back, he recognizes that in the 1960s, when he was at school, there wasn’t much awareness of the condition. While teachers pointed him out as an example of failure, he now sees his autism as a gift. It has pushed him to be the best he can be.
He is a strong advocate for neurodiversity and holds workshops in schools for neurodiverse children. During these workshops, he shares his life story, shows his sculptures, and helps the children create their own miniature figures out of Blu-Tack.
Wigan's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. In 2004, he exhibited at The Artlounge gallery in Birmingham. The BBC's Inside Out - South West noted that the works displayed included "scenes of Jesus Christ and The Last Supper, with each individual figure no bigger than an eyelash or a human hair. The Library of Birmingham exhibited his works in January 2015.
He has also collaborated with other artists and companies. Watches by the Swiss company Greubel Forsey are perhaps the most bespoke in the world. After 4 years of research and development, they have created a timepiece housing a built-in microscope to view one of his art pieces. This is all encompassed inside a fully functional Greubel Forsey timepiece.
Further exhibitions of his work, both in the UK and overseas, are being planned for 2019.
Willard Wigan's micro-sculptures are more than just tiny works of art; they carry a powerful message. He wants miniature fans to know about him that he is affiliated to 3 principal charities. Each sculpture shares a message: that everyone has value, no matter how small or overlooked they feel. He hopes to inspire others to appreciate the little things in life and to recognize that small things can be mighty, too. The microscopic world has always been his happy place. He’s tried to make bigger sculptures, but small is best for him.
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