Last week, my wife Alice and I took a train ride into London to check out world-renowned Lego artist Nathan Sawaya’s “Art of the Brick” exhibition.
Days later, I’m still reeling from the experience. Check out my photos and review below.
Nathan Sawaya is a New York-based artist whose large-scale Lego structures have been touring the world to great (deserved) acclaim. I’m a Lego fanatic who’s built some pretty big sets and models in my time, but the sight of a giant tyrannosaurus rex constructed wholly out of bricks isn’t something I’ll soon forget.
“Art of the Brick” was held in an underground exhibit space in a converted brewery on London’s Brick Lane. For those who’ve never been there, Brick Lane is a very hip part of London: the kind of place where even a few years back the idea of a serious Lego exhibit would have seemed totally crazy.
It doesn’t seem so crazy any more — and it didn’t appear to strike any of the other visitors that way either, as they walked around taking photos and “oohing” and “ah-ing”.
The exhibition touches on a lot of different themes: 1960s pop culture icons like The Beatles, classic painted masterpieces recreated in Lego, some mind-bending figure sculptures, and, of course, the aforementioned dinosaur. Taken collectively, the artworks contain millions of Lego bricks — and it definitely showed.
I spent a couple of hours exploring and managed to get a good look at everything I wanted to see. A constantly amusing moment was watching the endless battle of parents trying to stop their kids from touching the displays — not always with total success. Funny? Definitely. Although I’m sure I’d think differently if they were my models on display.
All in all, I’d highly recommend the exhibition for those who get the chance to visit (although it’s now finished at Brick Lane). Check out more details of “Art of the Brick” here.
And make sure to scroll down for the rest of my photos.
