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Ai Weiwei Uses 650,000 Lego Bricks to Recreate Claude Monet's Painting

Dinda Karina Y · March 30th, 2023
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Chinese artist Ai Weiwei recently fascinated the public by assembling 650,000 lego bricks to produce one of Claude Monet's Water Lilies. The work, named "Water Lilies #1", is the largest Lego artwork created by Ai Weiwei, with a length of more than 15 meters. Ai Weiwei's work is on display at the Design Museum in London. This work is one of the exhibition collections with the theme "Ai Weiwei: Making Sense", open to the public from April 7 to July 30, 2023.

Ai Wei Wei's artwork using Lego bricks on display at the Design Museum in LondonAi Wei Wei's artwork using Lego bricks on display at the Design Museum in London

Ai Weiwei's inspiration came from one of the Water Lilies, a series of works with more than 250 paintings of water lilies made by French painter Claude Monet during his lifetime. This painting was created by focusing on the color that evokes iconic images from the impressionist art school. The use of color was applied to the work of Ai Weiwei covering the walls in the Design Museum gallery and was made from 22 different Lego colors.

"Toy bricks as the material, with their qualities of solidity and potential for deconstruction, reflect the attributes of language in our rapidly developing era where human consciousness is constantly dividing," Ai Weiwei said.

Ai Wei Wei's artwork applying 22 different Lego colors

Ai Wei Wei's artwork applying 22 different Lego colors

Ai Weiwei's visual of this pixel-like arrangement of Lego blocks depicts a beautiful lily pond at Claude Monet's home in Giverny, in northwestern France. On the far right is a "dark portal" referring to Ai Weiwei's childhood memories in Xinjiang, China, that represents the door to the underground dugout where the artist lived with his father in exile during the 1960s, according to a museum press release.

A close up of Water Lilies #1 by Ai Weiwei showing the composition of Lego blocksA close up of Water Lilies #1 by Ai Weiwei showing the composition of Lego blocks

With color compositions created by artists and Lego brick materials, this artwork is visually appealing and gives dimension and texture because Lego is square with one stud on top. The use of Lego in art also illustrates the modern side of work. 

Water Lilies #1 is like a 3D painting because it is textured and dimensional

Water Lilies #1 is like a 3D painting because it is textured and dimensional

With Water Lilies #1, Ai Weiwei wants to explore the tension between past and present, hands and machines, precious and worthless, construction and destruction in his dozens of objects and artworks. This exhibition is held to invite visitors to appreciate the artwork and design that artists have made with their skills and perseverance.

In Water Lilies #1, Ai Wei Wei wants to explore the tension between the past and present

In Water Lilies #1, Ai Wei Wei wants to explore the tension between the past and present

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Design · Art ·