Hanging Card Photomosaics
Creating the world’s largest Magic card Photomosaic
In the spring of 2011, I had a vivid dream of a collage utilizing cut-up Magic: the Gathering cards to create a massive representation of my favorite card, Birds of Paradise. After spending a month or so mulling over the logistics of the idea I decided to pursue it, spending the greater part of two months planning, designing, and building a 2,500-image mosaic. All images were hand-picked by myself, rather than via a machine or algorithm, allowing for intricate details such as the Bird’s eye or an erupting volcano in the background to be matched with thoughtful precision. Anticipating transportation issues, the mosaic was built on a grid system, allowing the approximately 7’x9’ mosaic to be taken apart and reassembled.
Since 2018, the mosaic stands prominently on display at Dice City Games, a game store in Wheaton, MD and with whom I consulted during their business launch.
Lightning Bolt Mosaic
Approximately a year after building the Birds of Paradise photomosaic, I began working on a much smaller, second piece. This one was of a very different card, Lightning Bolt, and emphasizes a more zoomed-in, vertical representation of color and shade. This piece was chosen in part to pair with the first mosaic. In the Magic: the Gathering community, a common phrase is “(Lightning) Bolt the Bird (of Paradise)”.
This piece also hangs at Dice City Games, on the fall opposite the Birds of Paradise mosaic.
