Little People in the City by Slinkachu

Title: Little People in the City
Author: Slinkachu
Pages: 128
Published: June 1st 2009 by Pan Macmillan
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Summary: "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 bag: "Shopping for one again." Another office worker sits atop a gigantic engagement ring and gazes into the distance; the caption reads, simply: "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.

MY REVIEW

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 included some pictures from the blog site, and will include the link as well so you can go check it out.

For more, go see Little People.