Graham Short
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|
Graham George Short | |
|---|---|
 Graham Short in 2017 | |
| Born | July 4, 1946 Birmingham, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | micro-engraving |
Graham Short (born 4 July 1946) is a micro-artist, living and working in Birmingham, England.
Career
[edit]Upon leaving school at the age of 15, Graham Short signed up to a six-year apprenticeship at a stationery engraving company in Birmingham. He learned the art of copper-plate and steel die engraving for the stationery trade - producing embossed letterheads, business cards and wedding invitations.[1]
When his apprenticeship had ended, Graham started a business in Birmingham's Jewelry Quarter, creating stationery for banks, royal palaces, and perfume companies. In 1970 he first attempted the engraving of The Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin. This developed into a 40-year project which was finished in 2010. This work was shown at the Art Lounge Gallery, in Birmingham's Mailbox shopping complex.[2] His first Fine Art exhibition at Art Decor Gallery,[3] Whalley, Lancashire, in 2011 sold out within twenty minutes. This event was followed by a solo exhibition at the Clarendon Gallery, Mayfair, London. His exhibition at the Tony Huggins-Haig Galleries, Kelso, also sold out within minutes.[4]
In 2012, his nine-month project Cutting Edge, showing the words "Nothing is Impossible" engraved along the sharp edge of a Wilkinson Sword razor blade, attracted attention from the media .[5] During the same year, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, he engraved a minuscule portrait of the Queen on a speck of gold inserted into the eye of a needle.[6]
In 2019, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) commissioned a collaboration with the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. Armitage's 51-word poem entitled Finishing It, was engraved onto a 20mm long and 10mm wide pill. The engraved tablet will be displayed permanently in the new Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery.[7]
In 2020, Short was commissioned to work with Brax La Rue, a watch company. Short's microscopic engraving is the ‘hidden secret’ in the mechanism of just one timepiece.[8]
In 2023, in collaboration with The Forces Network, Short engraved the 405 letters of the World War One poem, "In Flanders Fields" in the eye of a needle. He engraved the poem onto a microscopic piece of metal, scraped from his grandfather's Coldstream Guards First World War cap badge.[9]
In August 2024, in the run-up to a global launch in Germany, Short worked with Honor, the Chinese consumer electronics company, to engrave a minuscule 166-word apology on the side of the new Magic V3 foldable phone. The sarcastic message, a dig at rival Samsung, can only be seen under a microscope. [10]
Exhibitions
[edit]November 2012 - 'The Writers Collection' at Clarendon Fine Art Gallery, Mayfair, London, Short unveiled 'Fry's Delight' his latest piece in collaboration with TV Personality Stephen Fry. This piece was later placed in a sale at Sotheby's, London to raise funds for English PEN,[11] the charity that supports and represents imprisoned writers around the world.[12]
October 2014 - 'Love, Life and Hope Exhibition' Platinum Galleries Northallerton.[13] This included the first viewing of 'In Flanders Fields' the First World War poem written by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.[14]
In 2021 'The Tiniest Art in Town' exhibition opened at the Soden Collection in Shrewsbury. [15]
July 2024, and on permanent display, is Short's microscopic artwork; 'The smallest portrait in the world of William Shakespeare'. The portrait is engraved on a gold disc inside the eye of a needle, and can be seen at the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford on Avon.[16]
Religious pieces
[edit]From 2011 to 2013 Short created a work called the 'Five Pillars of Islam' (the foundation of the Islamic faith) as part of the Fusion Collection. This collection of nine calligraphic pieces fused together English and Arabic. The collection attracted interest from around the world and was viewed by over two thousand people while on display in Birmingham Central Mosque.[citation needed]
In June 2013, Short was invited by Indian artist Nikki Anand, to introduce her 'Euphoria' solo exhibition to the British public for the first time at the Nehru Centre, London.[17]
In June 2015, after four month's work, Short completed the engraving of the Khanda,[18] on the point of a needle.
In August 2017, the 'Faith Exhibition' was shown in Kelso, Scotland, before being taken around Britain. Miniature engravings from Sikh, Islamic, Hindi, and Christian religions were shown. 'Otche Nash' the main prayer of the Russian Orthodox Church - engraved on the head of a gold pin measuring 2mm across, was on view to the public for the first time.[citation needed]
In April 2019 the '99 names of Allah' were engraved on the head of a gold pin measuring 2mm across. All 99 names are taken from verses of the Quran to describe Allah's attributes. This was a four-month project.[19]
In 2022, Short engraved what is believed to be the world's smallest nativity scene in the eye of a needle. This was exhibited at a Nativity Festival at St Laurence Church, Northfield, Birmingham.[20]
In January 2023 he completed The Lord's Prayer, engraved on a speck of gold, inserted into the eye of a needle.[21]
Jane Austen £5 note Giveaway
[edit]In December 2016, Short engraved a portrait of writer Jane Austen on the transparent section of four polymer banknotes. Classic quotes from Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park were also engraved onto the notes, encircling Jane's portrait. These were then put into circulation as a giveaway.[22] The four notes were distributed across areas of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.[23]
The £5 note, found in Northern Ireland, was sent anonymously to the Tony Huggins-Haig gallery in Kelso by the finder. The finder asked that the note be given to a children's charity. It was auctioned in London in December 2017 where it realized £5,000. The proceeds were donated to the BBC Children in Need charity. The auctioneers, Morton and Eden, waived their fees and donated this to the same charity.[24][25]
Other ventures
[edit]Swimming
[edit]Swimming has been a major part of Short's life. In 2001 he set a new record in becoming the Champion for 200 metres butterfly at the European Masters Championships in Mallorca. He broke the British and European record in the 1500m Freestyle in the first session of the ASA National Masters Championships 2016 at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. He knocked nearly four seconds under the previous record time of 22:08.91. He swam 22:04.97 to claim gold in the 70–74 years age group.[26]
Acting
[edit]In 2019 Short secured the part of Ned in the short film, Ned & Me. The film, sponsored by the British Film Industry was screened at the 2020 'This Is England Festival' in Rouen, France. The film was also accepted for The Aesthetica Film Festival in York, a BAFTA Qualifying Festival for British short films. At the 2021 FICBU International Film Festival in Spain, Short was awarded 'Best Actor' for his portrayal of Ned in 'Ned & Me'.[27][28]
In 2023, Graham Short’s second film, ‘Dog Run’ written and directed by Lorna Nickson Brown, picked up the ‘Best European Short Film’ award at the Catania Gold Elephant Film Festival in Italy.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ "After leaving school at the age of 15 with no qualifications%2C Graham Short signed up to a six-year apprenticeship at a stationery engraving company in Birmingham. He learnt the art of copper-plate and steel die engraving for the stationery trade".
- ^ "Mailbox Birmingham". Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ "Exhibition by man who engraved Lord's Prayer on pinhead". BBC News. 9 February 2011.
- ^ "Graham Short Kelso exhibition sells out for genius engraver". Border Telegraph. 4 August 2013.
- ^ "World's smallest engraving on the edge of a razor blade". 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-02-11.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Live, Mark Steel, Graham Short's micro-engraving - Portrait of the Queen engraved on a speck of gold in the eye of a needle".
- ^ "Poet Laureate's 'poem on a pill' cuts cancer down to size - The Institute of Cancer Research, London". www.icr.ac.uk.
- ^ "World famous Micro artist hides miniature paw print within Brax la Rue timepiece". prdistribution.com.
- ^ "Engraver of microscopic Remembrance poem says it symbolises unseen sacrifices". 12 November 2023.
- ^ "HONOR does something one in five Europeans are not comfortable doing, with apology to Samsung owners".
- ^ "Stephen Fry donates pen to English PEN". English PEN.
- ^ "English PEN". English PEN. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "events page with philip gray,doug hyde,fabian perez and henderson cisz".
- ^ "In Flanders Fields". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Hand of Genius I Graham Short Micro-Artist I Shrewsbury".
- ^ "World's smallest portrait of Shakespeare goes on display in Stratford".
- ^ “Euphoria” Global Woman Tour: “Euphoria” Global Woman Tour Archived 2016-03-26 at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: March 26, 2016
- ^ "The Khanda – Engraved On The Point Of A Needle - Sikh Entrepreneur". Sikh Entrepreneur. 26 June 2015.
- ^ Team, T. M. V. (April 15, 2019). "Micro-artist creates smallest engraving in the world of the 99 names of Allah - TMV".
- ^ "Tiny Nativity scene in the eye of a needle on display in Birmingham". BBC News. 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Tiny gold Lord's Prayer engraved in eye of needle by Birmingham artist". BBC News. 31 January 2023.
- ^ "Rare £5 note worth £50,000 sent in Christmas card".
- ^ "What happened to the fivers 'worth £50,000'?". BBC News. 8 December 2017.
- ^ "Engraved £5 makes thousands for charity". BBC News. December 8, 2017.
- ^ "Jane Austen £5 note 'worth £50,000' spent in Blackwood". BBC News. December 13, 2016.
- ^ "Graham Short lowers 1500m European record | ASA Masters 2016". Masters Swimming Hub. October 28, 2016.
- ^ "Ned & Me (2020)". IMDb.
- ^ "International Short Film Festival of Bueu (FICBUEU) (2021)". IMDb.
- ^ "Catania Film Festival - Gold Elephant Awards (2023)".