Handmade Miniature Worlds that Look Just Like Real Life


Matthew Albanese. Strange Worlds.

From tranquil beaches and lazy rivers to violent volcanoes and worlds beyond our own, Albanese creates spectacular tiny worlds from humble and often mundane materials. Sugar and food coloring are transformed into an arctic glacier; while walnuts, toothpaste and candle wax became the base for a fantastic living coral reef, complete with jelly bean anemones. Interestingly, the dioramas themselves are not the final product, but rather a means to the final photograph.

Made from sewing thread, sticks, wood, hand dyed ostrich plumes, potting moss and dip-dyed cotton batting, the handsome willow tree took about two months to construct.

This is a time lapse video of Matthew assembling a miniature willow tree made out of wood thread and hand dyed ostrich feathers.

Strange Worlds. Hardcover – January 1, 2013 From Amazon.com

Matthew etches lightening bolts into plexiglass for his model, “Box of Lightening”. (Photo by Matthew Albanese/Barcroft Media)

See more of Matthew’s works here: MatthewAlbanese.com – Bēhance – YouTube Amazon

Get to know a litte more in this candid interview from the exhibition ‘ Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities .’