My brothers and I loved LEGO® as kids. While I was particularly fond of my ‘people toys’ (Duplo LEGO® characters), I could have never fathomed the possibility of a life-sized LEGO® person standing in front of me. “Fortunately, there are no rules in art!” says Nathan Sawaya, the artist behind Art of the Brick. Here, this is exactly the kind of sculpture you’ll see, and it is incredibly impressive.
Art of the Brick is a world-travelling exhibition of over 150 LEGO® artworks, currently located at the Boiler House (the irony of a LEGO® exhibition on Brick Lane was not lost on me). Read on for my review of this LEGO® exhibition.
What can you expect at Art of the Brick?
Before I start this review properly, it’s worth noting that I got a little lost on arrival at the LEGO® exhibition, so heed my advice for your visit: turn to face Truman’s Brewery, walk to your right, and take the first right turn. There, you’ll find the entrance to Art of the Brick.
The artworks span original works – fun pieces, and thought-provoking comments on Nathan’s life – as well as recreations of some of the world’s most iconic art, each in themed galleries. I particularly enjoyed admiring Da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa and Michelangelo’s David honoured in such an unique way. The brick count on each plaque meant my colleague and I could engage in a fun guessing game. I’m pleased to boast say I consistently guessed the closest to the correct amount of bricks used in a sculpture – my closest guess was just 500 bricks off from the right answer.
My furthest-away guess, however, was trying to grasp just how many bricks were used to create the magnificent 20-foot dinosaur, which stood in a room all of its own. While every artwork is impressive in its own right (hey, I can barely build a basic house out of LEGO®), this sculpture was next level. From the tail to the ribs, I couldn’t even fathom how much work went into creating it. Spoiler alert: my guess of 50,000 bricks used was too small…
My favourite LEGO® artworks
A piece I particularly liked was entitled ‘Courage Within’, set in the Human Condition room. Nathan created this piece to represent the artist within him bursting out of his constraints as a lawyer – his former job. I liked how, throughout the exhibition, you learn a lot about Nathan’s motivations and inspirations, whether through original art like this, or videos playing on screen.
My favourite LEGO® artwork at Art of the Brick was without a name, but you can find it in the first room upstairs. The dress, made solely out of red LEGO® bricks, with droplets of suspended bricks behind it, was simply breathtaking. It gave the impression that it was simply melting away into the air. I stopped and stared for ages.
Getting in on the action
Upstairs, we found an infinity room displaying what seemed like hundreds of LEGO® skulls, thanks to the reflections – and London is only the second city on the world tour to host this installation. It made for a great photo op – in fact, there were a few photo op dotted throughout the gallery.
The exhibition concludes with a shop and a playroom where, amongst other things, you can have a go at creating your own masterpieces with pre-loved LEGO® pieces. Ladies and gents, this is harder than it looks. I was not deluded to think I could create anything remotely like the pieces displayed throughout the exhibition, but I did think I’d create something more masterful than I did…
To conclude this review, the Art of the Brick exhibition caters to a plethora of visitors: the budding art critic, the intrigued teen, and of course, the LEGO® fanatic. I thoroughly enjoyed how the exhibition taps into a love we had as children, as well as captivating our adult minds. The venue’s atmospheric lighting, spacing production, and the artworks themselves come together to create a rather calming exhibit that left me in awe of Nathan Sawaya.
