Barack Obama inauguration: artist Willard Wigan creates micros...

Willard Wigan MBE made the artwork from a slither of cable tie, which sits in the eye of a gold needle.

The 51-year-old said that being able to witness the first black presidency was a "dream come true" and something he wanted to mark.

He said: "This is a very significant piece. Being the first black president in history, I had to make a tribute like this as something to show my gratitude.

"It was my belief that I would never see anything like this in my lifetime. It's a dream come true. Martin Luther King's dream has finally come true."

Mr Wigan, from Birmingham, said he worked nearly 18 hours a day for seven weeks in a cupboard to create the sculpture.

"It became an obsession, it almost sent me insane. I had to make it right. I had to really concentrate, you have to be a dead man walking," he added.