Fascinating Sculptures of Wild Animals Made Of Lego Bricks Will Blow You Away
Most sculptors would craft their works using classic materials, such as clay, marble and plaster. But Sean Kenney, an award-winning artist in Brooklyn known as "professional kid", loves to work on Lego sculptures.
Back when we were kids, most of us have played, if not owned, Legos. And for a lot of aspiring artists, these colourful, plastic bricks introduced them to the world of engineering and sculpting.
Kenney has always been using Legos for creative purposes. He combines his background in cartooning with his comprehensive blueprints.
Among Kenney's projects is an animal menagerie for Nature Connects, a travelling exhibition. His works have been touring around the world for almost a decade.
Believe it or not, Kenney used more than 3 million pieces of Lego for this project. Assisting him is a team of artists who are in charge of research, planning, and execution.
Finishing one work depends on the size of the project. Building about 50,000 bricks potentially take up to nine months.
A lot of the prolific artist's works are gigantic pieces that look like they're defying gravity. A video on his channel shows us that the hummingbird statue has a cleverly hidden metal bar that holds the bird's weight.
To ensure durability, they apply glue to each Lego piece. So far, the team has built more than 150 works.
1. Sean Kenney and his team use Lego pieces for creating stunning animal sculptures.
Sean Kenney2. Orangutan In The Rain
Sean Kenney3. Father Duck and Ducklings
Sean Kenney4. Jumping Koi
Sean Kenney5. Pansy and Bee
Sean Kenney6. Lion
Sean Kenney7. Mother Polar Bear and Cubs
Sean Kenney
8. Kenney ensures that he can capture the emotion and apply realism to every animal's face.
Kenney pays special attention to capturing emotion and realism in each animal's face.
Sean Kenney
9. The talented artist creates life-size (or larger-than-life pieces) animal sculptures to honour the Earth's species and deliver awareness about endangered species.
Sean Kenney
10. Baby Pandas Playing
Sean Kenney
11. Deforestation
Another piece that clearly creates awareness. It shows the dangers that clouded leopards and other animals face because of human greed.
Sean Kenney
12. The intricacy of each piece comes from the careful research and planning of Kenney's team.
Sean Kenney
13. Kenney's team follow's a blueprint as they glue the pieces.
Sean Kenney
14. He has miniature models of his creations.
Sean Kenney
15. These miniature models are being sold on his website.
Sean Kenney
16. Birdbath
Sean Kenney
17. Birds versus squirrels
Sean Kenney
18. Bright yellow Chinese Pangolin, part of the 'Nature Pop!' exhibition
'Nature Pop!' exhibits more than 40 sculptures made of 800,000 Lego bricks. This exhibition looks at the beauty of nature through contemporary displays with colours that pop. It shows animals in dazzling contrasts with their surroundings.
From bold to whimsical, 'Nature Pop!' is all about being playful with art. The goal of this project is to inspire creativity using colours.
Sean Kenney
19. Striped blue Snow Leopard, a piece created for 'Nature Pop'
'Nature Pop!' wants is visitors to think about the natural and intricate world and stunning accomplishments in the field of engineering. Just like 'Nature Connects', it evokes the principle that everything is connected.
Sean Kenney
20. Caterpillar
Sean Kenney
21. Watch the master create a huge piece of art.
There is another underlying message in Kenney's outstanding pieces. By using Lego bricks, a child's toy, he wants remind us that even as adults, we can retain a child-like creativity and imagination.
Nature Connects' stunning sculptures are scheduled to be shown in three states in the USA namely, Iowa, Florida and Georgia, from this year until 2023.
In Kenney's career of more than 15 years, he has created replicas of architecture, Lego portraits, and other colourful pieces. His animal sculptures can be found in zoos and gardens in the USA.
Aside from Nature Connects, Kenney has other animal and nature-themed exhibits. One focuses on the beauty of nature through colourful displays. Another takes a look at the abilities of animals.
