Any DC Comics fan who happens to be in London between now and September 3 will want to make point of swinging by the city’s South Bank Gallery, especially if they also happen to like LEGO toys.
With the blessing of Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya is staging a show called The Art of the Brick: DC Super-Heroes, featuring more than 120 large-scale creations of DC characters, vehicles, environments and themes, all made from more than two million LEGO bricks.
The Art of the Brick has been described by CNN as one of the world’s 10 “must-see exhibitions,” while Sawaya’s latest super-hero show is the world’s largest LEGO exhibition ever inspired by DC Comics charters. Don’t believe how amazing the show is? Read some of the reviews posted by people who have seen it.
Sawaya, 43, is a full-time LEGO artist — yes, that is an actual occupation one can list on their tax return — who quit his job as a high-priced New York City corporate lawyer in 2004 to pursue his true calling.
“I use LEGO bricks as my medium because I enjoy seeing people’s reactions to artwork created from something with which they are familiar,” Sawaya has said. “Everyone can relate to it since it is a toy that many children have at home. I want to elevate this simple plaything to a place it has never been before. I also appreciate the cleanliness of the medium. The right angles. The distinct lines. As so often in life, it is a matter of perspective. Up close, the shape of the brick is distinctive. But from a distance, those right angles and distinct lines change to curves.”
The show, which includes impressive LEGO sculptures of DC heroes in their classic action poses, also features some more whimsical takes, including Aquaman in repose, while relaxing in a giant tub, as well as a life-sized Batmobile (at almost 18 feet long!) built from about 500,000 standard LEGO blocks, modeled on the version made famous in the 1989 Batman movie. The batmobile, which took Sawaya 500 hours to build, is said to weight about 1,500 pounds!
“Just as Superman, we all have our own story. This art collection is based on the elements of the journey of a superhero, including the moment in which we are all called to the adventure,” Nathan Sawaya said of the show.
Below are some of just a few of the LEGO sculptures featured in the exhibition, which opened March 1, taken from various reviews of the show, and it’s previous staging in Australia, posted across the ‘net.
