During my lunch break today, I made the short trek from my
office to the ArtScience Museum at the Marina Bay Sands to see a special
exhibit called The Art of the Brick. It’s
not closing for a few more months, but I was anxious to go before I fly to Hong
Kong on Friday because the pictures I’d seen were dazzling. And what with the
weekend crowds and all, I figured the best time to visit might be in the middle
of the week, between noon and 2pm when I take my lunch break.
It was a stunning exhibit, and if you find yourself in
Singapore during its run—or in any city where the travelling show comes on its
world tour—I highly suggest forking over the admission fee to be awed and
amazed by the incredible artwork. Most incredible of all is the fact that each
and every sculpture on display is created entirely out of LEGOs.
Nathan Sawaya is the artist whose works form the entirety of
this exhibit, and he has got to be one of the most imaginative men on the planet.
How he thinks of and executes his masterworks is a fascinating process, and the
exhibit gives insights into his ever-working mind. Quotes on the walls of the various rooms
reveal that he takes inspiration from memories, fears, real-life events and his
beliefs. And the small snippets of information displayed beside each sculpture often
delve into the quasi-philosophical roots behind each of his works.
It all started when he was five years old, he says, and his
grandparents gave him a LEGO set for Christmas. Over the years, he had to put
the LEGO blocks aside and focus on his role in the real world (he was an attorney)
before finally deciding that LEGO sculptures were his passion and devoting
himself full-time to their creation.
Now a successful artist, an official LEGO Master Builder and
a LEGO Certified Professional (yes, those are real things), Sawaya devotes his
life to the creation and exhibition of LEGO sculptures. He’s made LEGO
photographs, LEGO skulls, LEGO recreations of world landmarks, LEGO faces and
full-sized LEGO humans. There was even, believe or not, an enormous LEGO dinosaur to cap off the exhibit. Each and every sculpture was amazing, from his famous Yellow to some of his less well-known (but still spectacular) pieces.
Below are some of my favorite shots I took this afternoon. Since words can’t really describe his work, I’ll let the
photos do most of the talking!
Yellow is Sawaya's most famous LEGO sculpture
LEGO portrait of the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock
A self-portrait of the artist
Raindrops
Raindrops up close
Me and Blue Man
The entire scene is made of LEGOs, from the high table to the dresser to the easel!
Portrait of Bob Dylan
The Parthenon sculpture is made of around 20,000 LEGO bricks!
Massive Tyrannosaurus Rex made up of around 80,000 bricks!
LEGO model of the ArtScience Museum
