Author: Trusha Naidoo

Date: April 2017

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I love the South Bank. Big time. It’s got it all. River views, drinks on tap, live music, books to browse, fabulous films and a dance floor. I kid you not.

 

A large marquee covered in comic illustration has sprung up for Nathan Sawaya’s “Art of the Brick” behind the Royal Festival Hall. I confess this exhibition has been on my “must do” list for a while.

Finally the pester power of little brick lovers won out. Obviously, there was a long queue of superheroes in the making and their parents for a play date with a difference.

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Word has it there are over 2 million Lego bricks under this roof and 120 works of art or play, depending on your point of view. So this is what happens when a New York legal eagle quits his day job indulges in his love of Lego!

 

Each piece is theatrically lit and there’s a plaque with the backstory on it - like how many bricks went into the build or how many burritos where eaten while it was being made.

 

A kneeling Batman and a haunting Joker head show off Sawaya’s staggering ability to bring comic books to life brick by brick.

 

The Fortress of Solitude Room really stood out. It features Superman trying to break through his own super long cape. Clearly, a comment on how we can all sometimes get in our own way.

 

The very last gallery, the Bat Cave took my breath away.

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At the end of the exhibition there’s space to build your own characters out of Lego. Kids and grown ups muck in to make stuff together. I wasn’t mad on all the merchandise on offer but I did like the space to explore your own take on comic life in Lego.

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