Ant Hamlyn, the London and Brighton based artist, has created an intersection between nostalgia and soft sculpture, in the form of the “World’s Smallest Bouncy Castle“. This desktop-sized piece, measuring just 15 x 15 x 15 cm, is a meticulously scaled-down, fully functional version of its life-sized counterpart. Encased in a custom-built vitrine measuring 20 x 20 x 20 cm, the tiny bouncy castle is a blend of whimsy, sentimentality, and material ingenuity.
Profile picture by: Andrew Meredith.
Over the past 4 years I have been hand sewing mini bouncy castles and they keep getting smaller and smaller, the smallest hand sewn one is 15cm x 15cm. To me they have become a precious object to me now as opposed to an item of play.
- Ant Hamlyn
The castle, painstakingly hand-stitched from PVC offcuts, operates exactly like a standard inflatable bouncy castle. Accompanied by a brass plaque and a timer-controlled blower, it functions as both a work of art and a feat of engineering. Hamlyn’s attention to detail highlights his dedication to craftsmanship, as well as his intent to bridge the playful freedom of iildhood with the logical constraints of adulthood. The work’s absurdity lies in its ambitious aim to set a world record for the smallest functioning handmade bouncy castle, emphasizing the tension between the playful and the pragmatic.
I think for me the mini bouncy castle is about aging, trying to protect or pause the fleeting passing of time. The memory of childhood tucked away and displayed in a box. When something is scaled down to the point where its original function becomes useless it takes on another form altogether. I’ve always been keen to present the bouncy castle in a luxury display vitrine, behind padlocks. As a child we tend to be more interested in play, I think as we get older whether deliberate or not we gravitate towards commodities and possessions. There is a growing collectable market for things like boxed action figures and Pokemon cards for example. Items once played with are now preserved for financial or nostalgic value.
- Ant Hamlyn
Currently on view at The Bomb Factory Foundation, the work is presented as part of a limited series of five, each encased within locked, archival-quality vitrines. The bouncy castles are displayed in ascending size, starting with a palm-sized version and culminating in a form that neamrs abstraction. The installation reflects Hamlyn’s inspiration: the childhood myth that a goldfish grows to the size of its bowl. This metaphor underpins his exploration of how play and imagination shrink under the weight of adulthood’s logical constraints.
This pairing of archive, worth and play is then combined in the absurd idea of asking for a world record for the smallest hand sewn bouncy castle. Just to clarify – It does not hold the world record (hence pending) but I’ve never seen a smaller one.. I love the open ended-ness of ‘pending’ if something is pending it may never happen…but it also might.
- Ant Hamlyn
The locked vitrines serve as both protective casings and conceptual barriers, turning these nostalgic relics into untouchable archival commodities. By encasing the soft, pliable castles within hard, unyielding vitrines, Hamlyn juxtaposes intimacy and distance. The viewer is invited to reminisce about the past but is denied the tactile joy of interaction, underscoring the fragility and preservation of childhood memories.
The miniature bouncy castle is currently being presented for the first time in London at The Bomb Factory for ‘Window Wonderland’ as an installation with custom signage and a display plinth it aims to sit conceptually between a Black Friday advertising display, a toy, a hoaxed world record campaign, a luxury product and an advert for a 20th Century magic show.
- Ant Hamlyn
This playful yet profound piece also critiques consumer culture, with the vitrines echoing the pristine packaging of collectible toys. Hamlyn transforms an object of joy into a preserved artifact, forcing viewers to reconsider their relationship with nostalgia, materiality, and memory.
Im super excited to be collaborating on a solid silver bouncy castle ring this year with Joyride Design and Mick Thórig – a new limited edition jewellery strand of Case Studyo where we are developing a range of pieces together, Details of this release will be announced very soon!
-Ant Hamlyn
The World’s Smallest Bouncy Castle exemplifies Hamlyn’s ability to blend humor with sincerity, creating art that is both thought-provoking and delightfully absurd.