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Dr Willard Wigan MBE creates the smallest handmade sculptures in the world. He uses high powered microscopes and custom-made tools formed from shards of diamond, hypodermic needles, and paintbrushes made from eyelashes.

What truly sets Willard apart is his unique use of his own heartbeat. By working between breaths, he uses his pulse as a jackhammer to chip away at material. The work requires extreme levels of concentration, and he frequently works through the night to avoid vibrations.

Willard’s talent and determination propelled him to international acclaim. His work sells for six-figure sums, and he has exhibited internationally. However, his path to success has been far from easy. As a schoolboy, he struggled with reading and writing due to unrecognised autism, his teachers dismissed him, and he endured routine bullying and racism.

Willard's latest sculpture, a tribute to Charles Darwin, is crafted on the end of a pencil – a canvas rich in symbolism. For Darwin the pencil was crucial for sketching his revolutionary ideas on evolution that would forever change our understanding of life. For Willard, it holds personal significance. Despite struggling to read or write his new sculpture represents his triumph over adversity.

Dualtagh Herr steps into the minuscule universe of the acclaimed sculptor, where art meets the microscopic. He follows Willard’s meticulous process as he pushes the boundaries of art, science and patience to craft a new piece that challenges our perception of scale.

Image: Charles Darwin by Willard Wigan. Credit: Paul Ward

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