Kleine Leute in der großen Stadt

by Slinkachu

"They're Not Pets, Susan," says a stern father who has just shot a bumblebee, its wings sparkling in the evening sunlight. A lone office worker, less than an inch high, looks out over the river in his lunch break, "Dreaming of Packing it All In." A tiny man makes his way back to a tiny car, with a tiny shopping "Shopping for one again." Another office worker sits atop a gigantic engagement ring and gazes into the distance; the caption reads, "No." These are the collected photographs of Slinkachu, a London-based artist who for several years has been placing tiny hand painted people on street corners, park benches, and the Underground, and leaving them to fend for themselves. Much like Banksy’s early graffiti work, Slinkachu’s creations mix the bustle, humor, and melancholy of city life, and lie quietly in the darker corners of London’s streets, waiting to be discovered. And if you’re lucky enough to find one, to quote The Times : "Oddly enough, even when you know they are just hand-painted figurines, you can’t help but feel that their plights convey something of our own fears about being lost and vulnerable in a big, bad city." This volume also includes a forward from acclaimed novelist Will Self.

Genres: Art, Photography, Nonfiction, Humor, Street Art, Design

Hardcover

First published September 5, 2008

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is amazing. it is what i imagine connor thinks of what rhode island looks like; tiny little people going about their tiny little lives. i know very little about art (except what william taught me about pietro della francesca yesterday) but i know that this is genius, even though the gum one grosses greg out a lot.

[Petra in beautiful green mountainous Armenia now · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is like The Borrowers for grown-ups. The difference being that these little people don't hide. The author/artist places his little doll people in all sorts of situations that are either humourous, draw attention to something we would otherwise miss or make a political or sociological point. He mostly succeeds.

It's a nice gift book, but the quality of the printing of the photographs doesn't elevate into the coffee-table to be shown off realm, but more stashed away on the humour shelf.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Elizabeth Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photo essay teeny weeny art dioramas depicting daily lives of urban inch-high plastic figures, in scenarios ranging from cheeky to wry to touching to risque, all seeming to silently comment on our own existence.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't decide which set-piece I like best. Think it might be "They're not pets, Susan", though maybe it is "Local amenities for children."

So, who is Slinkachu? Presumably Will Self knows, since he wrote the introduction to Little People.... But the more relevant question may be where did he get that name? In any case, he makes city living interesting again, and forces us to see the world anew.

[Lord Battle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reimagining cities as fantasy sandboxes filled with adventure is something I've spent most of my life doing. I've also dumped endless amounts of $$$ on action figures. Slinkachu has managed to make both seem like worthwhile endeavors by combining the two hobbies to create a powerful statement of fleeting magic.

I can't help but find each image to illustrate a deep loneliness as our little subjects seem miles away from each other in their massively sprawling world. Weirdly I do find the magnified photos of architecture to be incredibly uplifting. Something about capturing vivid textures makes me appreciate how alive our often mundane lives actually are.

[Alexander Labinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes bright, sometimes morbid, always funny! A gem on every coffee table (or bathroom, depending on where you tend to entertain your guests)

[Sze · Rating 4 out of 5]

my reactions as i flipped the pages:

"wooooow!"

"ewww"

"ha-HA!"

"oh no"

"ohmigod!!!"

felt absolutely greedy to see it all at once. but i will be returning to it.

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

They're tiny!

[Bert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and fresh book! Every page made me smile, laugh and think. The biggest little book ever.

[Alex G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all his work... Somehow he makes the situations involving his tiny figures seem larger than life.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

British artist Slinkachu creates tiny people and props and photographs them “living” their daily lives in public places—then leaves them behind. From reading the paper on a subway, to taking out the trash. It’s a cute concept. I wish the book didn’t take such an adult turn toward the end (prostitution, a flasher, etc.) so I could share this book with my niece and nephew. Cleverly, he begins the book with dialogue from a brief conversation he had that tells readers there is adult content in the book.

I actually liked his second book better simply because the settings in that book are in cities all over the world and add another layer. This first book is limited to London and Manchester, and often the locations are nondescript and uninteresting. It’s still clever and fun concept, and I kept imagining people discovering these miniature vignettes.

[Ai Chinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tiny pretty man in these photographs is similar to living in the recent world.
I like the word "The paintings of the Sistine Chapel are a small-scale model in spite of their imposing dimensions, since the theme they depict is the End of Time".
So "Undoubtedly philosophers are in the right when they tell us nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison."
I think modern people who live in a stressful society require the "Minumental" for their mentality. Of course including me.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking at these scenes Slinkachu creates you wonder if he sees a spot & creates a vignette to fit or if it is the other way round, the figures in their various situations are created & then he has to find a place to house them. Either way, it is a creative & sometimes amusing, sometimes dark look at humanity in miniature

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring, making us google mapping and trying to find the exact location of the "plastic people" :) However, many of the places have changed. Thanks to the timing function, the area around the time of 2008 can still be matched, like Tesco Express Hammersmith and Palace Theatre!

[Michelle now at StoryGraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible and genius! And I've just ordered the other books in this collection! Although I changed my rating to four stars instead of five after I realized that every single character in the book is white - which is a shame.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fotobog med mange sjove og finurlige opstillinger af miniaturefigurer i storbymiljøer, som omskaber helt almindelige ubetydelige detaljer i bybilledet til overraskende situationer i et helt andet perspektiv med de små figurer.

[Jessica Riddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather amusing coffee table book but was a very strange present to receive for Christmas from my Mother, if anyone is interested I have a more detailed review on my YouTube channel
https://youtu.be/VvmU0Cs3nz8

[Alasdair Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst I enjoy Slinkachu's work I found myself disappointed with this offering and would have liked to have read some of Slinkachu's thoughts behind the scene's.

[Ligaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skip any text and just enjoy the photographs. Amusing, clever - so glad it didn't devolve into pornographic imagery.

[Femke Allemeersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geweldig, inspirerend boekje om zelf ook miniatuur te fotograferen. De intro van het boek was ook geweldig

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The little street-art art installations and photographs by Slinkachu show little narratives of everyday life with some social commentary between the lines.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buenas fotografías. Divertido.

[Blynnk]

I love this book. everytime I look through it, i'm again entertained. some humor, some satire, some social commentary.
I will have to see if I can find any new creations of his.

[Chanel Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ojo, es un libro de fotografías miniatura, pero lo ame

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thought and effort to put this together is fantastic.

[Jjsoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

art that is both super cute and poignant in its own way - fab coffee table read 10000/10

[saif · Rating 4 out of 5]

found it at tabaq

[Miranda W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Great foreword, too, about the philosophically provocative nature of scale. One of my favorite artists.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I'm honest, I bought this book by mistake. I thought it was a set of postcards that I originally wanted to purchase. I figured they would be great for that. I was surprised when I got this, and it was a book of photographs of little people doing street things. This was one of those mistakes turned into something that I loved. The photographs in Slikachu were great to look at and the idea was great. It was one of those "Why didn't I think of that?". I found myself chuckling at some of the photographs that they had. My favorites were tourist, urban camping, the mother load, our fist home, one false move, office politics, scavengers, "they;re no pets Susan" and bad first date.

After receiving the book through Amazon, I did some research on the Little People project to see some more art work by Slinkachu. Apparently, this project started as a blog and worked it's way into a book. What's nice about this book is that you see the photograph of the idea at hand, and you also see the photograph from far away.

Either way I really enjoyed this nice surprise. I've encluded some pictures from the blog site, and will enclude the link as well so you can go check it out.