Joshua Smith creates miniature urban landscapes—or “miniature sculptures of Urban Decay”, as he puts it—out of cardboard and wood. The end result transforms the grimiest of buildings into a mesmerizing dollhouse, complete with lighting and interior.
Based in Norwood, South Australia, Smith’s career spans over a period of 18 years. Formerly a self-taught stencil artist, he switched gears to miniature art in 2015. Incredibly enough, his practice is entirely self-taught and based on trial and error. “I am constantly learning and finding new and quicker ways of doing things,” he admitted in an interview with Monster Children.
According to Smith, over the years there have been many methods he has tried to get the textures just right for details like bricks, pavement, and wall rendering: “It is such a good feeling when I finally figure out how to do something just perfect,” he relayed.
His details include the often overlooked aspects of urban environments such as grime, rust, decay, and graffiti, all of which Smith perfectly recreates in 1:20 scale miniatures.
“I like the beauty that comes from decay,” he admits. “There is a certain special quality from it that it really tells a story. Things such as grime, decay, rust, gum on the sidewalk, and graffiti are all layers of time each telling their own story. I think it gives so much more character to a building which once had former glory now sitting there in decay.”
Despite his relatively short career in miniature art, Smith’s incredible work hasn’t gone unnoticed and has been showcased in over 100 exhibitions, in galleries and art fairs in cities like London, Paris, Berlin, San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sydney and Melbourne. He also has an impressive following online, which you’re invited to join.
