The Art of the Brick London exhibition

The Art of the Brick London exhibition has been extended to April 12th 2015 due to popular demand. I confess I had heard nothing about it but DH was very excited when he booked tickets for us all- due in part to the fact that we would be taking The Girls to his old stomping ground around Brick Lane in London.

Housed at the Old Truman Brewery, one of CNN’s Top Ten Must See Global Exhibitions features sculptures created by former lawyer Nathan Sawaya from Lego. And it is utterly breathtaking.

The exhibits are broken down into small groups, each room feeding from one unexpected treasure- Klimt’s The Kiss recreated in 3D, for example- to the next- hello, enormous Dinosaur. Information displayed on tablets next to each creation gives the idea behind the word and how many pieces of Lego were needed to create it. They range from recreations of famous works of art, such as The Mona Lisa, to giant pencils, to poignant and moving figures, such as the Father and Son.

Since 9th January 2015 an extra section has been added to the exhibition. In Pieces, a brand new multi-media collaboration between the Lego whizzkid and Australian Photographer Dean West, resulting in beautiful stylised photographs all featuring Lego creations, both of which are on display for the public to see. A fascinating look at Lego from a new perspective for me, and I overheard several people whispering that it was their favourite part of the exhibition.

We walked in wonder- I walked with slight trepidation since I was marshalling two small children through lots of dark space and they weren’t allowed to touch the pieces- marvelling that you can create so much from a toy that- on our house at least- is used to build Barbie furniture. The most fascinating thing by far for DH and I was the video footage- shot in time lapse- showing Sawaya building his pieces, from the base up, and gluing them in place as he goes.The confidence with which he builds was something I could have watched entranced for hours. I’m fairly sure the woman I sat next to had been there for some time, transfixed.

The best thing for the children- apart from getting close to Lego One Direction- was the construction room at the end of the exhibition, which you heard long before you saw: half a dozen tables covered with Lego, along with a Duplo pit for the younger children, and the chance to build whatever inspired you. Honestly there were parents in the corner of that room who had fallen asleep waiting for their children to finish. There were also plenty of parents who surreptitiously garnered Lego pieces and retreated to a small corner to build their own Lego sculptures away from their kids!

The exhibition was a fabulous day out for us all, which we recommend to anyone, young or old.

 

Extra information:

You cannot touch the exhibitions pieces but you are actively encouraged to take pictures (and use the #AOTBUK hashtag). The one thing I would say is that the rooms are all quite dark and downlit, hence the quality of my pictures!

The Art of the Brick runs until 12th April 2015 and a Family Ticket for 4 costs £47 for a weekend session. Full ticket costings- along with travel information- are available on The Art of the Brick website.

The gallery is a 10 minute walk from the nearest tube, and there are loos and a buggy park on site.