Nathan Sawaya is a genius. Do not worry if you have no idea who he is, by the end of this article you will have some grasp of his genius. Partly because I am a little obsessed with him, and also because his exhibition made me rethink the whole ‘getting a university degree thing’ and give up my education to play with Lego. Yes, you heard that right. Why would I be tempted to even think of making this ridiculously random life-change? (Well, it certainly worked for Nathan Sawaya!)
But who is Nathan Sawaya? He is the mastermind behind the new exhibition in the Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Musem, ‘The Art of the Brick’. The exhibit is devoted to Sawaya’s sculptures, which he crafts not out of fancy art materials but a toy that we all grew up playing with – Lego! He gave up a lucrative career in Law to pursue his passion – a passion that stemmed from the very first Lego set he received as a Christmas gift as a child. And judging by the throngs of people in the ArtScience museum when I was there (seriously, I could barely move), his passion is now his money-maker as well!
The exhibit has 52 sculptures in total, but some interesting ones stand out. The star piece is the sculpture ‘Yellow’ – a bust of a man fully constructed with yellow Lego pieces tearing his chest in frustration, sending a barrage of loose bricks tumbling down. Does this signify release? Mental or physical breakdown? Sheer frustration? Well, according to Sawaya, his creations can be interpreted any way you want – that is ‘The Art of the Brick’.
By now, you must be thinking that this exhibition is quite a pretentious one that probably requires more ‘analysis’ than you do in your term papers! But that’s the great thing about ‘The Art of the Brick’. Just as your head is getting too heavy with themes of life, death and body image, you will enter a room that contains a 6 metre-long T-Rex skeleton – all made out of Lego, of course. And the inspiration behind this sculpture? Nothing profound here – it is simply Sawaya’s tribute to the thousands of children who have visited his exhibits all over the world!
I highly recommend purchasing the audio guide for six dollars, which comes in the form of an iPod. Yes, it is rather pricey, but totally worth it – you will not get such detailed explanations for each sculpture from the plaques placed beside them. I promise you that the audio commentary is not boring. In fact, it really helps you appreciate all of Sawaya’s creations – they are more than just pieces of Lego glued together! So while you neither have to be a kid nor an art student to enjoy ‘The Art of the Brick’, one thing is for sure – after this exhibition, you are no longer going to see Lego as just that silly thing you used to construct haphazard buildings when you were four!
To learn more about ‘Art of the Brick’ (It is running till April 14, 2013), you can go to http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Museum/Whats-On/
And even if you do not have time to check out the exhibition, you can read about the different Lego sculptures online at
http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Entertainment/Shows/The-Art-
of-the-Brick-Exhibition-Catalogue/