Appealing to my own nostalgia, an art exhibition with sculptures made from… Lego… yes … Lego, held at Old Truman’s Brewery, tickled my interest. As a child, long before Legoland was built in Windsor, I had dreamt of going to Denmark to see the miniature world created out of Lego. However, the idea of taking an essentially plastic toy brick into a piece of art seemed intriguing if not far fetched.
Given the heavy advertising of the exhibition across London, particularly on the tube, I had high expectations. Being held in the heart of Shoreditch also made me think this was going to be edgy. So when I arrived (just 3 days before the exhibition was ending) I was virtually bursting to get through the introductory video and see the delights in store.
Was I disappointed? Yes. Why? My expectations had been set too high. Lego, by its very nature has to bright, and linear. So, perhaps unsurprising the sculptures where also linear and full of primary colours. Hopefully this is evident in the slide show of some of my more favoured pieces.
I remain envious of the skill and patience it must take to construct these. The apple, in my view, is one the triumphs. Equally recreating some of the world’s most famous art pieces requires skill and ingenuity. Check out ‘The Scream’ - that’s one scary picture in 3-D.
The exhibition is littered with positive thinking (see Step Ladder above). For me, this just lacked the subtlety of other art exhibitions where a piece is open to interpretation. It was too forced, and it felt like a lecture I hadn’t quite signed up for.
The artist, Nathan Savage, readily admits in his introductory video, that he started building with Lego for relaxation and I think his own personal enjoyment and relaxation definitely comes through. However, I wasn’t keen, it was not my cup of tea. However, kudos to the artist, there was a lot of energy and imagination in his pieces. And the best bit was right at the end of the exhibition when there was the opportunity to play with Lego. Much more my scene (bring on the bricks)!
Big thanks go to my friend Lisa who joined me on this trip and for the burger we shared afterwards!
Find out more about the artist by clicking the link below.
http://www.brickartist.com