Aside from bright walls and cute doors, I have another obsession: mosaic.

I can’t quite explain my obsession with mosaic. I guess I just find them all beautiful, and imagining the hard work of creating and arranging tiny pieces to make a big piece of art has always amazed me. There are so many things to admire; the colors, the patterns, and sometimes, the hidden messages. Usually, more intricate = more beautiful.

Here’s some of my favorite pieces that I’ve come across:

This one is from The National Gallery, London. I thought the ladies looked a bit drunk and high in this, but my friend said they looked a bit scary (particularly the one on the right).

I saw this one just outside Winchester Castle, and it instantly caught my eye. While most of mosaics have neutral and muted colors, this one uses bright colors, and it really stands out! Although the patterns look simple and quite random in some parts, it still looks beautiful.

And of course, one place to have mosaic-gasm is The British Museum, London. Mosaics everywhere. I had a momentary panic attack as I couldn’t choose what to shoot first. It soon faded though, followed by frustration as it was really hard to get a decent picture, with the dim and yellowish lighting. Most of my pictures from there are blurry and not sharp enough, but here’s the few that I think are good enough to be posted here.

Please pardon our faces. The other pictures of these didn’t make the cut!

It’s not easy to capture the beauty of mosaic. You want to see it as a whole, and at the same time, you want to see the little pieces so you can admire it. When taking a picture, unless you have a really good camera, you have to choose one or the other to show. Like the last picture, it doesn’t look like a mosaic, but if you stand closer you’ll be able to see the intricate details.

I will forever be on the search for more of these beautiful pieces, that’s for sure.