The Art of the Brick Singapore: LEGOs at large in EXPO’s newest exhibition

Though it may have started as a mere children’s toy, LEGO has built its way (pun intended) into iconic status. Today, we see it as more than colourful building blocks, with the brand expanding to other mediums like video games, films, and even theme parks. But the heart of LEGO is still all about creating something spectacular from these unassuming blocks, which is what Singapore EXPO’s new The Art of the Brick exhibit is keen to showcase.

After touring over 100 cities in 24 countries, one of CNN’s Top 10 “Global Must-See” exhibitions arrives in Singapore. Brought over by the same company behind Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, The Art of the Brick is an exhibition for all LEGO fans, by a LEGO fan — showcasing over one million bricks transformed into more than 90 sculptures.

About The Artist

What’s most astonishing about The Art of the Brick is that the exhibition’s sculptures are all handled by a single person, Nathan Sawaya.

Nathan Sawaya actually began his career as a corporate lawyer, but in 2004, he boldly decided to leave his legal career behind and focus entirely on his artistic endeavours — that endeavour being LEGO sculpting. The brick-building toy was Nathan’s childhood love, and that same love drove him to start his creative career in adulthood.

Since then, Nathan’s work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries, museums, and public spaces around the world. And as you’ll see at The Art of the Brick, these LEGO art pieces range from larger-than-life sculptures to immersive installations. 

Highlights of the Exhibition

But now onto the exhibition itself, which has over 10-themed rooms that visitors can explore. We’ll be talking about our favourites from our visit.

Artist Studio is the very first themed room that you’ll encounter and it features a mishmash of sculptures, varying from contemporary builds to more unusual creations. Here, you can find LEGO-made portraits of people like Andy Warhol and Nathan himself amongst, large-scale crayons, and then you have strange ones like “Think!”, which shows a head with its top cut off as small little LEGO people residing inside peer off into the distance.

Next is Yellow, and if you’ve seen the ads on social media for The Art of the Brick exhibition, you’d instantly recognise what this room contains.

Centred in the room is the intricate sculpture of a half-bodied man opening his chest as yellow LEGO bricks sprawl out. As someone who has seen the ads, I was rather surprised by the size of the sculpture; it isn’t as big as the videos suggest. Nevertheless, it remains an impressive feat of construction and it is no wonder that the sculpture is the sole focus for this room.

Past Masters is an ode to legends of the art world. Nathan has recreated famous works of art from various creators, exploring how these iconic works would look if they were made of LEGO bricks. Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker gets the LEGO treatment as does the Winged Victory of Samothrace from Greece.

Paintings also get some love as well. You’ll of course find art pieces like The Great Wave Off Kanagawa and Van Gogh’s The Starry Night remade with LEGO, but you’ll get to see unique interpretations like what was done with American Gothic, which sees the two iconic characters out of the frame and fully viewable in 3D.

For people who appreciate deep-thinking art pieces, venture towards the Human Expression room. This room hosts many humanoid LEGO sculptures depicted in many abstract forms — it is certainly the most “artsy” out of all the rooms here at The Art of the Brick.

The sculptures, which range from medium-sized to large-scale, showcase human reality in various scenarios. If there’s one place to ruminate about life, it would be here.

We also can’t talk about The Art of the Brick exhibition without mentioning the 20-foot LEGO dinosaur in the aptly named T-Rex room. 

If you’ve not had the chance to see actual Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons at museums, the one here in the LEGO exhibition provides a decent alternative. Here, you get to marvel at the detailed build whilst imagining that you’re on a trip to Jurrasic Park (without the danger of course). 

Finally, our last highlight goes to Division. It’s the last room visitors can experience and it is a magnificent cap off to the exhibition. The room sculpture piece shows otherworldly imagery with a pool of red hands emerging from the floor as they attempt to reach towards people flying in the sky. 

Other activities

While the main exhibition may be done, there are still some activities that visitors can participate in right after you exit the exhibition!

Just like in Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, you can take on the Sketch & Post activity. Grab a piece of paper and colour in the sketches before scanning it at the machine; you’ll see your sketch come to life right in front of you.

Another activity can be found right at the corner of the open space. Go right ahead and check out the stations with various LEGO games installed, and what’s more, you and a friend can play them together (that’s right, there’s co-op). From Harry Potter to Star Wars, there is a lot of variety available for all kinds of fans.

We saved the best for last. Right next to the game stations, you’ll see two pools filled with LEGO bricks. If seeing the exhibition has ignited an urge to build something of your own, then this area is the perfect place for you!

Unleash your creative juices and build whatever your imagination can come up with. There are blocks of different shapes and sizes which can help you construct anything you want, from robots to spaceships, there is no limitation!

After all the activities, you may be feeling parched or hungry. If so, a drinks and bites station is conveniently located in the same area. The pop-up is a collab with No.17 Tea and features several of their menu items, including the No.17 Mochi Pearl Milk Tea, Kyoho Grape Green Tea, and Premium Taro Latte. In terms of snacks, they offer freshly baked Croffles — available either in Original or with Chocolate.

The Art of the Brick Details

While those may be our highlights, there is much more to see and experience when you come down to the exhibition at Singapore EXPO!

📍Location: Hall 8B, 9 Somapah Road, Singapore Expo, 487370
💲Price: 

Grab your tickets straight from the Fever website! You can also check out The Art of the Brick’s socials on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on any news.

Photos by Russell Loh of the DANAMIC Team.