Keep Calm and Carry On
Brick count: 4,912
91×137 cm
“Keep Calm and Carry On” was a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for the Second World War. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Although 2.45 million copies were printed at the time, and although the Blitz actually happened, the poster was never publicly displayed. Little was known about it until a copy resurfaced in 2000.
“The message still feels relevant to me! I applied it in my previous life as a lawyer. And I’m applying it today as an artist…”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 4,912
91×137 cm
“Keep Calm and Carry On” was a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for the Second World War. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Although 2.45 million copies were printed at the time, and although the Blitz actually happened, the poster was never publicly displayed. Little was known about it until a copy resurfaced in 2000.
“The message still feels relevant to me! I applied it in my previous life as a lawyer. And I’m applying it today as an artist…”
-Nathan Sawaya
Computer
Brick count: 5,690
51x97x61 cm
“How do I make a computer look like a computer built out of LEGO© bricks, while also making it look like a computer? In the end, I focused on the bright colours of the LEGO© palette to make a PC that both resembled a computer but also touted some fun. The arm reaching out is representative of the reach of technology into our lives. I built this sculpture over the course of two years. The original computer was completed in 2006, but I decided to add the arm reaching out of the screen in 2008.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 5,690
51x97x61 cm
“How do I make a computer look like a computer built out of LEGO© bricks, while also making it look like a computer? In the end, I focused on the bright colours of the LEGO© palette to make a PC that both resembled a computer but also touted some fun. The arm reaching out is representative of the reach of technology into our lives. I built this sculpture over the course of two years. The original computer was completed in 2006, but I decided to add the arm reaching out of the screen in 2008.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Cracked
Brick count: 8,948
81x84x38 cm
“I spent over three weeks fabricating Cracked out of approximately 9,000 LEGO© bricks. Also, the sculpture depicts how I feel every morning.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 8,948
81x84x38 cm
“I spent over three weeks fabricating Cracked out of approximately 9,000 LEGO© bricks. Also, the sculpture depicts how I feel every morning.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Incomplete
Brick count: 13,122
152x48x36 cm
“Ever have those days where you’ve given so much of yourself that it feels like a hole has been left in you? Or those days where not matter how much you do, you feel like you’ll never get everything done? ‘Incomplete’ represents the hypothetical physical manifestation of those feelings.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 13,122
152x48x36 cm
“Ever have those days where you’ve given so much of yourself that it feels like a hole has been left in you? Or those days where not matter how much you do, you feel like you’ll never get everything done? ‘Incomplete’ represents the hypothetical physical manifestation of those feelings.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Self
Brick count: 14,060
152x46x28 cm
“Taking a leap is hard. I used to be a lawyer. There was nothing wrong with being a lawyer, but I always knew there was another me, an Artist Me, lurking inside. Then one day I decided to let the Artist Me out, and I never looked back.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 14,060
152x46x28 cm
“Taking a leap is hard. I used to be a lawyer. There was nothing wrong with being a lawyer, but I always knew there was another me, an Artist Me, lurking inside. Then one day I decided to let the Artist Me out, and I never looked back.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Disintegration
Brick count: 10,124
89x81x15 cm
“Beware the winds of life that nibbles away at your sense of self. Stay strong.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 10,124
89x81x15 cm
“Beware the winds of life that nibbles away at your sense of self. Stay strong.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Dark Despair
Brick count: 11,274
80x70x42 cm
“When children want to be invisible, they simply hold their hands over their eyes making it so they can’t see the world. Then they reason that the world can’t see them either. Sometimes we keep using this trick, even when we grow up.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 11,274
80x70x42 cm
“When children want to be invisible, they simply hold their hands over their eyes making it so they can’t see the world. Then they reason that the world can’t see them either. Sometimes we keep using this trick, even when we grow up.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Hanging on the edge
Brick count: 10,520
218x66x38 cm
“Haven’t we all been here, hanging on by a finger? I know I have. And though it might at first seem impossible, we usually manage to pull ourselves back up.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 10,520
218x66x38 cm
“Haven’t we all been here, hanging on by a finger? I know I have. And though it might at first seem impossible, we usually manage to pull ourselves back up.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Stairway
Brick count: 4,750
97x102x38 cm
“As humans, we scour our world for opportunities. Opportunities for success. Opportunities for happiness. But more often than not, we find those opportunities notin the world outside, but within ourselves. This sculpture was built from recycled LEGO© bricks that had been donated to me.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 4,750
97x102x38 cm
“As humans, we scour our world for opportunities. Opportunities for success. Opportunities for happiness. But more often than not, we find those opportunities notin the world outside, but within ourselves. This sculpture was built from recycled LEGO© bricks that had been donated to me.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Swimmer
Brick count: 10,980
32x197x75 cm
“In this piece we only see above the surface. The viewer’s imagination is permitted to fill in the rest of the sculpture below the surface. It took 15 days to create Swimmer.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 10,980
32x197x75 cm
“In this piece we only see above the surface. The viewer’s imagination is permitted to fill in the rest of the sculpture below the surface. It took 15 days to create Swimmer.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Cello
Brick count: 7,695
140x46x28 cm
“As an attempt to inspire kids to explore music, I created this life-size cello completely out of LEGO© bricks. Although it is the exact size as a real cello, please don’t try to play it might look like a cello but it sounds like LEGO©”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 7,695
140x46x28 cm
“As an attempt to inspire kids to explore music, I created this life-size cello completely out of LEGO© bricks. Although it is the exact size as a real cello, please don’t try to play it might look like a cello but it sounds like LEGO©”
-Nathan Sawaya
Scream
Brick count: 3,991
91×74 cm
“Munch used the bright colors to convey both angst and emotion. By expressing his own alienation in the painting, Munch became known as one of the first Expressionist painters. I focused on the figure when creating the brick replica version of this piece I wanted to get the curve of his body correct, as it is such a recognisable image. I included small shallow holes for the nostrils and eyeballs since the original figure’s eyes and nostrils are subtle. The colors of the background were brightly conveyed with the vivid colors of the bricks.”
-Nathan Sawaya
Brick count: 3,991
91×74 cm
“Munch used the bright colors to convey both angst and emotion. By expressing his own alienation in the painting, Munch became known as one of the first Expressionist painters. I focused on the figure when creating the brick replica version of this piece I wanted to get the curve of his body correct, as it is such a recognisable image. I included small shallow holes for the nostrils and eyeballs since the original figure’s eyes and nostrils are subtle. The colors of the background were brightly conveyed with the vivid colors of the bricks.”
-Nathan Sawaya
