Capturing Toy Soldiers With Mini Blue Helmets All Over The World.

The engaging interactive Miniscule Blue Helmets on a Massive Quest was spearheaded by designer Pierre Derks, a project which has also spawned a new book.



Starting in the Hague in Holland, the task engaged people all over the world to shoot photos of 50,000 little plastic toy soldiers wearing hand-painted blue helmets, hats or berets from over 60 global locations. The blue helmets and berets are a nod to the colored helmets worn by the UN Peacekeepers.






The mass manifestation of the Miniscule Blue Helmets in public space implies that the potential of getting confronted with a heavily armed blue helmeted soldier is within reach of a global audience. Although it is obvious that the encounter is rather different from running into a real-life UN Blue Helmet [shown below], it might just trigger the same questions and feelings about their presence and deployment.




The photos, shot by varying individuals, are then uploaded to a global Google map with a geo tag so you can access where the image was shot and by whom.



The Mini Blue Soldiers Google map can be viewed as either terrain or satellite:

Click upon the icon of the little blue helmets on the google map and you'll get the location, the name of the photographer and the opportunity to view the photograph.


There's no end to the places these little soldiers have been captured. From inside a little apartment in Amsterdam:

to on the ledge of the Grand Canyon:


Eyewitnesses of the quest have submitted hundreds of photos like the ones shown below:








The Book:


Miniscule Blue Helmets on a Massive Quest, the Book by Pierre Derks

“Tiny in size, huge in scope”

The book ‘Miniscule Blue Helmets on a Massive Quest’ by Pierre Derks shows the worldwide intervention of 50,000 plastic toy soldiers with blue hand-painted helmet, beret or hat by means of 500 selected photo's of the mini Blue Helmets on locations in more than 60 countries. An international spectrum of specialists shares in the book their reflections on the project and their expertise on topics that are related.

The book contains text contributions (written in English) by: Susan Manuel, Roger Stahl, Jonathan Vickery, Patrick M. Regan, Jos Morren, Linda Polman, Matt Groff, Christ Klep en Damon Stanek.

The open nature of the project has led to a fascinating variety of outcomes that contributed to the layered meaning. An example is the adoption of the project by Dutch Blue Helmet veterans who took part in the UN mission in Lebanon (70's / 80's). Jos Morren (Association of dutch military war and service victims): “Frank bought 2,000 of those little green men and painted the helmets blue himself, constantly carrying them with him and leaving them in tactical spots. (...) Eric took it more slow, but became inseparable from his one Miniscule Blue Helmet. Very handy, because if you lose touch with the world because of a psychological blockade, you just put your little buddy on the table. Very effective in such a situation. Out of the blue, those boys were suddenly given a healthy, creative form of self medication, through the art of Derks.”

Order the book here

The publication is made possible with the support of Fonds BKVB (The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture). The project expanded in collaboration with LhGWR and the TodaysArt Festival.

Echoism, Your Left Side Vs. Your Right Side.

Above: one of the subjects in Wolkenstein's photography study of facial asymmetry

Do you have a good side? Most people do. Rarely are faces symmetrical and more often than not, features are misaligned and various facial characteristics make one side of your face appear very different from the other.



I first introduced you to the work of Julian Wolkenstein three years ago. Echoism, a recent project of his, plays with the notion of your own identity as expressed through your features. What do you look like? What are the things that make you look like you? If you are made symmetrical, do you consider yourself more beautiful, less so, or is it just weird? Or is it you at all? Do you have a best side? What is to be said of left and right brain dominance?



The process is a face-to-camera portrait, after which the image is split into a left and a right section, then one side is horizontally flipped and placed against that same side to make up two separate portraits of the right side and left side of a human face.

In photographer Julian Wolkenstein's initial project, the subjects were specifically cast for their individual facial features. They were photographed front to camera and in the same position. They were asked not to express emotions or character.

Below are images from the study:









Echoism is now available for you to try via an online website or with an app you can buy in the itunes app store. If you've got a built in camera on your computer, you can visit the website, have your image immediately taken and upload it to the site.

Echoism.org is a project by artist and photographer Julian Wolkenstein.
via Trendland via Notcot

Canstruction - Food Can Sculptures [40 images] Help Raise Hunger Awareness.

Founded in 1992, Canstruction's mission is to engage, amaze and inspire the community to work together raising canned food to feed hundreds of thousands of hungry people.




Canstruction® is a design/build competition showcasing the talents of design and construction industry professionals and students they mentor.





At events held around the world, teams can spend months planning their structure but are given just 12 hours to defy expectations, logic, and gravity as they build fantastic sculptures from thousands of cans of food.






Driven by the knowledge that their structures will change lives – by lifting the spirits of those in need, by raising public awareness, and most importantly, by filling the shelves of local food banks – dedicated volunteers work tirelessly to bring their creations to life. The following day, the super-sized masterpieces are judged in a variety of categories as these unconventional art exhibits are opened to the public, the cost of admission – just one can of food.








Canstruction® is using one can as a catalyst for change. One can to represent the building blocks of these massive sculptures. One can to prove that every act of kindness makes a difference. Through the generosity of volunteers, celebrity judges, and members of the community, Canstruction® has contributed millions of pounds of food to community food banks – demonstrating that we can win the fight against hunger.




















The information and above images represent "Canstructures" from 2006- 2009, courtesy of Canstructution.