I found my inner child in a Lego zoo in Leeds | The Art of the Brick exhibition

We’d tag-team building sets as I’d find the pieces we need and he’d put them together. Our imaginary games which featured the mixed-up architecture of Lego City, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, are one of my favourite memories of being young. Now, The Art of the Brick expo, a new art exhibition in Leeds centred on Lego, brings the magic back.

Named as a “must-see” attraction by CNN, The Art of the Brick has been transported across over 100 cities all over the world and now it has come to Leeds. Hidden on the Headrow in Leeds City Centre, you’ll see 67 different sculptures made out of over one million Lego bricks. It’s a mesmerising collection designed by American artist Nathan Sawaya featuring recreations of iconic art pieces, animals, everyday objects, and people (though not with the classic yellow head).

In the exhibition, Sawaya has managed to make bricks look almost not like bricks at all. Pieces 8mm long and 9.6mm high are assembled to create grand structures that tower over you. Somehow rectangle bricks have curves and plastic material has texture. It would’ve been great to have detailed descriptions to accompany the pieces revealing how they were put together and how many bricks were used. However, to a large extent the structures do speak for themselves. With every single one, you instantly know exactly what you’re looking at.

Nowhere is the joy of recognisability more pronounced than when you see Sawaya’s re-imaginings of classic paintings and sculptures. From Van Gogh’s Starry Night to Rodin’s The Thinker, you’ll look around the room and say ‘I’ve seen this before’ and ‘I’ve seen that one too!’, even if you’ve never seen the originals in real life. In Lego form, new depth and detail in these works is revealed as Sawaya uses bricks to break boundaries.

However, my personal highlight of The Art of the Brick is Sawaya’s Lego constructed zoo where you can see animals from the jungle, the ocean, and the rainforest, all assembled together in one room. These creations all stand still but they are constructed as if they are in motion - you’ll see sharks swimming, a monkey climbing, and a flamboyance of flamingos standing gracefully. There’s an emotiveness too, a difficult feat to achieve when you're working with plastic but Sawaya easily achieves it. Lego has well and truly come to life.

At the end of the exhibition, you’ll be greeted by cosy beanbags and video games - a dream combination for young Lego lovers. But in The Art of the Brick, there is truly something for the whole family to appreciate. It’s a mesmerising collection of art made out of the simplest of materials. Who knew there could be such beauty in bricks?

Useful information:

• The Art of the Brick will be available for an extended period on The Headrow, Unit 3, Broadgate, Leeds.
• Tickets cost £14.90 for adults and £10.90 for children and are available to buy on Fever.com.