It took 40 hours and approximately 100,000 staples, for artist Peter Root, to create this miniature megalopolis called Ephemicropolis.

 

From afar, this mini structure resembles the aerial view of a massive metropolis, but upon closer examination you can see the individualized staples making up each mini structure. This impressive installation was built using staple stacks of varying heights, ranging from a full stack (4.5 inches tall) to a single stack.

“I wanted to create a refined work using a single type of unit. Staples appealed to me as they are available in huge numbers, at a relatively low cost,” says Root. 

 

The artist is no stranger to staples having worked with them on a number of other installations – Under Construction and Bath 2001.

 

He explains his passion for the material: “Staples have have a shiny, perfect, man-made quality that when viewed in a specific way can be seen either as microscopic or massive in scale.The horizontal lines created by the individual staples that make up a stack are suggestive of relatively featureless tower-blocks or skyscrapers, the stacks of staples are themselves man-made structures.”  

  

                                                    All Images Courtesy of Peter Root