11 / 17Artwork 11 of 17Virtual exhibition
Long Live Peace!
Mykola Syadristy1962
One word in five languages – peace – engraved on a human hair. A golden laurel branch arches above it.
A human hair 3 mm long
What to look for under the microscope
In numbers
- BaseA human hair 3 mm long
- Letter heightAbout 0.005 mm
- Laurel branchGold
- 1962Year created
The story
The work was made in 1962. In October of that year, during the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis (16–28 October), the world came to the brink of nuclear war. “Миру – мир!” (“Peace to the world!”) was a popular slogan of the peace movements of the time.
How it was made
First he had to polish the surface of the hair smooth, using a method of his own, so that it could be engraved. He scratched the letters into the surface with a chisel made of diamond and a hard-metal alloy. The slightest difference in pressure would have cut the hair.
Did you know?
The Russian word “мир” means both “peace” and “world”. The slogan “Миру – мир!” plays on this: literally, “peace to the world”.
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