The Art of the Brick

Today I headed out to the East End – well, Aldgate East to be precise on the edge of Whitechapel. Strange, as I walked up Brick Lane, to think that Jack the Ripper hung about in this area doing his dastardly deeds. The exhibition I was headed for was in part of the Old Truman’s brewery.



Let me explain about its creator:

Nathan Sawaya is a New York-based artist who creates awe-inspiring works of art out of some of the most unlikely things. His recent global touring exhibitions feature large-scale sculptures using only toy building blocks: LEGO bricks to be exact. His work is obsessively and painstakingly crafted and is both beautiful and playful.

Let me explain, it wasn’t a show of Lego models per se. No Star Wars spaceships or Sydney Opera House here. Sawaya merely uses the bricks in the way an artist might use plaster or stone to construct sculptures and paintings which are breath- taking. Visitors are allowed to take all the photos they want so here’s a few of mine.

The first room featured David, Venus de Milo etc. They stand about 6 feet tall.





Ok – nothing new about that but it’s when you enter the next room that Sawaya’s talent shows through:

Starry night (Van Gogh):



Starry night viewed close up:



Mona Lisa (DaVinci):



The Scream (Munch):



The amazing thing bout that one is that it is made in 3D.

OK, copies of existing art but look at the medium that’s used – Lego bricks. I seriously think Lego should look at marketing these.
Some of Sawaya’s scupltures now. I found this one quite significant in view of the recent Charlie Hebdo incident in Paris:



This is Sawaya’s most famous piece. It’s called “Yellow”. Interpret it as you will. His explanation is:
“The sculpture is the torso of a human figure tearing its chest open as thousands of toy bricks spill out from it. This sculpture is about my personal metamorphosis and transitions, capturing my emotional journey. The piece can literally be interpreted as opening oneself up to the world."

Deep?



I liked this one – “Computer”



Try this. I assure you it is all Lego.



Swimmer:



Skulls:



Untitled. I thought “Up against the wall”:



Hanging On:



Dinosaurum:



Beatles:



And many, many more.

I realise it won’t be everybody’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed it and it will certainly make me look at Lego bricks in a different way in future. If you fancy going:

artofthebrick/tickets

It runs until April.

That looks really good, thanks for sharing.

Love the skulls . Very clever stuff and my favourite part of london other than southbank

Thanks for sharing geoffa, not how you usually think of Lego sculptures/ creations. . . I was in awe lol at the models in the Lego store in downtown Disney recently but these are something else.
Wonder how many times though the artist trod on a rogue Lego brick(ouch) the curse of many a Lego builder. . . Or parent of any child who's a fan of the brick but not the tidying:angry:
Joking aside the detail is fantastic thanks again for sharing x

Love it, I wish I'd known about it on our recent trip to London.I stayed in the Aldgate East travelodge last week, was a fab location!

We went to this exhibition on the Saturday after Christmas, primarily for our oldest DD who is actually 21 and still a huge Lego fan. We all thought it was completely amazing.

Debra

They are amazing, think my arty/lego mad daughter would love to see the exhibition.

Well done Geoffa

This is really great..

Might Go myself and have a 'Ruby Murray' afterwards !

Disney332

This thread has been automatically closed as it has not been posted on in 365 days.