Made in China | A Portrait Using 5,500 Toy Soldiers

Made by artist Joe Black, Made in China is an impressive piece rendered out of 5,500 plastic toy soldiers. It depicts the portrait of a young Chinese solider taken for the cover of LIFE magazine in 1938 on the story of the Sino Japanese War. To create a pointillism effect, each tiny replica is placed with a great attention to detail then spray painted their specific color. The name of the piece derives from the fact that each toy in this portrait was made in China. Taken as a whole, this piece makes quite a statement about the use of children in war.