Tiny ArtWorks – discover the magic of miniature art
Step into a world of intricate creativity with Tiny ArtWorks, a unique exhibition featured in this year’s South Australian Living Artists Festival.
Adelaide College of Arts, TAFE SA students are thinking small but dreaming big at this year’s South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival. Presented by the City of Adelaide, Tiny ArtWorks transforms Light Square/Wauwi into a whimsical treasure hunt of miniature galleries. Each pint-sized display, crafted by emerging visual artists, proves that the tiniest creations can spark the greatest wonder.
Stroll through the square and you’ll find intricate details tucked into unexpected corners – miniature worlds that invite you to pause, lean closer and discover surprising stories. Whether you’re a seasoned art lover or simply curious, Tiny ArtWorks delivers a uniquely intimate experience in one of Adelaide’s most beloved green spaces. The free exhibition runs until September 24 and features 11 individual works, each exploring a different theme, material and perspective.
Adelaide-based artist Timothy Gambell sets the scene with Kazeberu’s Home, a reptilian creature resembling a shingleback – or a bike bell – crafted from resin, bark, wood and ribbon. Playful yet uncanny, it blurs the line between fantasy and familiarity.
Yolanda C Boag, a multidisciplinary artist and Flinders University visual arts student, contributes two works with a strong ecological message. Keepers of Life reflects on the fragile interdependence of native wildlife and our responsibility to safeguard it. Charlie’s Friends highlights 10 South Australian species identified as vital to a healthy ecosystem. “Every animal is important,” Boag says. “When they’re all around us, we’re more likely to notice – and protect – them.”
Storytelling takes a quirky twist with Vic Ash’s Extra-terrestrial Rabbit Family, a tiny tableau of alien bunny parents and their three triplets. It’s a whimsical nod to family bonds, diversity and imperfection, encouraging viewers to layer their own interpretations onto the scene.
Texture and material experimentation shine through several works. Mel Au’s Home Ecosystem Macrofauna Specimens 1-3 explore the nature of clay, while Ursula Beaumont’s Latitude uses marbles, rubble, wood and even bullet cases to challenge how everyday objects shift in meaning depending on place.
Social commentary emerges in Mei-Li Yeh’s Home Sweet Home, a poignant response to South Australians living in tents amid the rental crisis. Inspired by Yeh’s own journey of rebuilding from rock bottom, the work transforms hardship into resilience.
Emotion takes centre stage in Kiki Liu’s The Wild Inside, a delicate blend of watercolour, pigment ink and charcoal that captures the elusive and ever-changing nature of human feeling. Shalini Kacker turns inward with My Happy Place, a heartfelt tribute to Adelaide College of Arts itself. “It’s been a joyous journey here,” she says. “The college has become my happy place.”
Rounding out the collection, Sally Amazon’s Hold Your Nerve dares audiences with a test of trust – or folly – while Calvin Stallard’s Miniature Milk Crate Seat reimagines humble objects as functional design, inviting a second look at the everyday.
From playful to poignant, whimsical to weighty, Tiny ArtWorks packs a big punch in miniature form – proof that, when it comes to creativity, size is no measure of impact.
Tiny ArtWorks exhibition is part of the (SALA) South Australian Living Artist Festival which runs until September 24, with a new exhibition part of Nature Festival running from September 26 to October 30.
