The Art of the Brick, Art Science Museum, Singapore

This brilliantly put together exhibition manages to successfully meld the traditional childrens toy Lego, with true art in a fun, creative and inspiring way.

Artist Nathan Sawaya, creates sculptures from Lego, and they have been put together here in a fantastic format. The exhibits are housed in various rooms, such as a portrait gallery that houses a number of ‘paintings’, a catwalk, with lots of sculptures that really make you think about human nature, and a magnificent dinosaur, showcased alone in an impressive space, with gorgeous back projections and atmospheric soundscapes.

The exhibition has been excellently curated, there is a good mixture of fun and art, with plenty of opportunities to interact as you go round. In fact I did attempt to make a water droplet at one stage, which was pretty poor to be honest and highlighted the skill involved in these creations, although it did impress the small girl next to me, much to the annoyance of her parents as she then decided that as ‘the lady’ had done it she needed to, and was going to ignore the boring adults who wanted her to try something a bit easier!

As well as the fun stuff, there are actually some much darker, introspective creations by the artist representing some of his deeper thoughts and insecurities. I think some of the smaller visitors to the exhibit may be a little unsure of these rooms, but they are easy to skip and there is plenty else to keep them entertained. And at the weekends there are lots of extra creative opportunities for the young ones to get involved.

This was my first visit to the Art Science Museum and it is a truly impressive building, both from the outside, based on the shape of a water lily (and not a bunch of bananas as I previously thought!) and within (although it is a little chilly so take an extra layer!). There are a number of ‘paid’ exhibitions, and one public floor, which I visited and found to be informative, thought provoking and fun, although creepily deserted.

All in all, this was a fantastic way to spend a morning. Excellently curated, inspiring, fun and thought provoking. I’m so glad I took the time to visit it.