Trent artist spends a whole month creating tiny gnome army

A maverick international student has taken inspiration from the famous Asian attraction and created her very own Terracotta army.

Sophie Jiang, originally from China, created the intricate figurines for an exhibition alongside her MA Fine Arts course at Nottingham Trent.

Each of the intricate figures were made from scratch, by hand

The 29-year-old, who lives in Trinity Square halls in the centre of Nottingham, worked without designs, drawings or plans when making the 25 mini-gnomes.

She told The Nottingham Post: “They were originally produced for an exhibition called The Park Garden Trail.

“It was held in private gardens as part of an event to promote art and I wanted to bring together traditional gnomes but inspired by China.

It took over a month of painstaking labour to create all 25 models

“It’s not in Chinese culture for people to keep garden gnomes, but they are incredible fun, which is why I wanted to create them.

“I have given some of them away to my friends and teachers but kept a number myself.”

The Trent Fine Art MA is 100% coursework based and requires wannabe artists to produce a final piece for a uni-wide exhibit at the end of the summer term.

The tiny gnome-like sculptures were inspired by Sophie’s home country

Marjolijn Brussaard, dean of the School of Art & Design, said: “Every work of design or art is the result of a journey which takes the designer or artist across unknown territory which demands the solving of problems, the discovery of ideas, the taking of risks and the excitement of new experiences.

“Our postgraduate students undertake incredibly in-depth research and we wanted to take a fresh approach to showcasing their creative practice by providing insights into the process, experimentation and decision-making that lies behind each individual’s personal journey.”