Category: Art

Overgrowth

October 3, 2023 By arne hendriks Off

“Overgrowth“ is a large video projection of a bonsai tree by the British artist Ceal Floyer. The Incredible Shrinking Man first encountered the work during the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009 where it was presented at the end of a long corridor. As such it…

Court Dwarfs: Nano Morgante

June 13, 2022 By arne hendriks Off

Surely one of the most remarkable sculptures created during the reign of Cosimo I de’ Medici is that of the dwarf jester Nano Morgante, whose real name was Braccio di Bartolo. Morgante, which means giant, was ironically nicknamed after the giant from the poem of the same name…

The Zooms: The Feynman Zoom

March 13, 2020 By arne hendriks Off

The Zooms are modest symbolic gestures intended to initiate an embodied practise of the desire for smaller. Although they are often hardly more than physical whispers these actions attempt to overcome the inability to act in the face of the omnipresent desire for BIG. They…

Guangzhou Reversal Room

December 30, 2018 By arne hendriks Off

The Incredible Shrinking Man was invited by the Guangzhou Triennial 2018, curated by Angelique Spaninks, Zhang Ga and Philip Ziegler, to resurrect one of its favourite shrink experiences: the Ames room. An Ames room allows people to visually experience a shift in body size by…

The Zooms: Abun’dance

April 16, 2018 By arne hendriks Off

The Zooms are modest symbolic choreographed gestures intended to initiate an embodied practise of the desire for smaller. Although they are often hardly more than physical whispers these actions attempt to overcome the inability to act in the face of the omnipresent desire for BIG.…

Studio of Suspended Disbelief

October 9, 2017 By arne hendriks Off

Whenever The Incredible Shrinking Man is invited to participate in a public event, such as an exhibition, festival or symposium, we simply pack up the research studio and relocate the investigation to the new space. There we continue reading, writing, discussing and creating new material…

Japanese Miniatures: Tokonoma

July 26, 2013 By arne hendriks 0

Our cultural environment bombards us with signs that bigger is better. The very notion of shrinking creates such internal conflict that we are inclined to ignore its obvious benefits and condemn the whole idea to the realm of mad science. We lack a framework that…

Golem Studio

June 1, 2013 By arne hendriks 0

What will the human species look like if we decide to shrink to 50cm? Will we shrink proportionally, or is it more realistic to anticipate on subtle, or dramatic, changes to the human physique? How do aesthetic desires influence developments, and what are the ramifications…

Japanese Miniatures: Suiseki

December 29, 2012 By arne hendriks 0

Although the love for miniatures is shared around the world it seems the Japanese know something about small that the rest of us have yet to understand. From bonsai, to netsuke, capsule hotels, sushi or even the notorious koonago, in Japan, more then any other…

Subliminal Tinker Bell

November 9, 2012 By arne hendriks Off

If we want to convince mankind that we should downsize the human body it will not be sufficient to present the endocrinological and genetic possibilities to shrink, or point out the amount of damage we are causing because of human size, or any of the…

Robert Therrien

February 1, 2011 By arne hendriks 0

Robert Therrien makes monumental sculptures and installations, often in the shape of tables and chairs. In terms of material and form his works corresponds to the model down to the smallest details, but in scale the sculpture differs dramatically. The furniture has assumed such proportions…

An Act of Rebellion

September 14, 2010 By arne hendriks 2

In The Tin Drum, one of the great postwar literary classics, the protagonist Oskar Matzerath decides to stop growing at age 3. He explains to the reader that since he was born with a fully developed consciousness he could observe adults, and their ways. Since he…

Court Dwarfs: Curiosity & the Tiny Caretaker.

July 11, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

Dwarfs, throughout the ages, have aroused curiosity. Some, like the American circus artist General Tom Thumb, even achieved great wealth by cleverly turning smallness into a spectacle. Certainly one of the most remarkable stories in this category is that of the Italian dwarf Sebastiano Biavati.…

Big Small Possible

June 25, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

Two short films titled Faktor 4a and Faktor 4b (perhaps related to a faktor of how much more of everything people would have if they were consierably smaller) created by Graw Bockler give a rare insight into a possible future when people of even extremer…

Ron Mueck

May 18, 2010 By arne hendriks 2

Shrinking the human species will be a complicated matter. Presumably not all people would shrink at the same speed, and older generations would be larger than younger ones. The sculptures of  Australian artist Ron Mueck shed an interesting light on things to come. He creates hyperrealistic sculptures…