06 / 17Artwork 6 of 17Virtual exhibition
Map of Australia
Mykola Syadristy1988
A whole continent in half a poppy seed: a map of Australia engraved on glass, with a leaping golden kangaroo beside it.
A halved poppy seed, 1–2 mm across
What to look for under the microscope
In numbers
- BaseA halved poppy seed, 1–2 mm across
- MapEngraved on glass
- LetteringLines about 3 microns thick
- KangarooGold
- 1988Year created
The story
The work was made for World Expo 88 in Brisbane, where it was first shown together with the master's other works. The world's fair ran from 30 April to 30 October 1988 under the theme “Leisure in the Age of Technology”.
How it was made
He scratched the map into the glass with a diamond-tipped needle: the outline of the continent, the rivers and the lettering. Glass is brittle; a single wrong move cracks it. He shaped the kangaroo from a tiny piece of gold, in mid-leap.
Did you know?
The year 1988 was no coincidence: the world's fair was the biggest event of Australia's Bicentenary. In 1788 the First Fleet of settlers arrived in Sydney Harbour.
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