Gritty miniatures of urban decay by Josh Smith

Posted on | By Thornton Kay
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South Australia, Australia - From Sydney, San Francisco and Los Angeles to Hong Kong and Taiwan, artist Joshua Smith's to-die-for miniature sculptures depict 1/20th scale city streetscape buildings complete with worn-out bill boards, black bin bags and old fag ends. His oeuvre includes a series of worn-out shipping containers and ageing wheelie bins.

Fascinated with miniatures and model-making, Josh can remember making things from cardboard boxes when he was little. His earliest adult-age model was a dumpster created for an exhibition with a miniature self portrait sculpture, glue bucket and broom in hand which he keeps displayed in a glass cabinet amongst his art collection.

"I think the most challenging thing is working out what to make certain things from. This is one of the main reasons I love doing miniature work so much; I love a challenge and the problem-solving skills that come with trying to figure out how to get miniatures to look realistic," Smith said in an interview [http://thedailymini.com/daily-mini-interview-miniatures-by-joshua-smith/].

Influences include graffiti, street art and 80s and 90s architecture. He meticulously observes things like rust coming down a wall or where grime is forming. Gum on the sidewalk and discarded cigarette butts. "Small things that can make a miniature street scene go from looking good to looking great - small details that make it."

Josh Smith would like to have a streetscape exhibition of kindred modelling spirits - such as Ryan Monahan [https://www.instagram.com/what_thehell/], Randy Hage [http://www.newyorkstorefronts.com/#a/9631], Drew Leshko [http://thedailymini.com/daily-mini-interview-miniatures-drew-leshko/] and one of his favourites, Satoshi Araki [https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Satoshi+Araki&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS672US672&tbm=isch&tbo=u]

He has exhibited worldwide, was featured last year on BBC web [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-39030785] and is currently exhibiting in Palo Alto, California.

Smith lives by his motto - 'Never stop and never let anyone tell you what to do'.

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Photos of Josh Smith's model of a locksmith's in Kaohsiung were taken by Ben Neale in Adelaide [https://www.instagram.com/ben_neale/]


I Know Josh Smith.
Photographer Ben Neale

Story Type: Feature