North Van artist builds his way into global Lego contest finals
A cargo ship and lighthouse, a futuristic skyscraper, a parrot, a castle, a steam locomotive: To the untrained eye, they might not have much in common.
But they are, in fact, a unifying theme in Lego artist Paul Hetherington’s creation, a piece called “Imagine it! Build!” that is one of 16 finalists out of 443 submissions in a special-edition Lego set contest in honour of the bricks’ 60th birthday last year.
“The Lego brick is so inspirational, it’s created a subculture of people who like to build with those bricks,” Hetherington, 49, said. “Imagine it! Build it! explodes around the (red main) brick with different creations Lego has made, representing different themes Lego has done over the years.
“I tried to visually represent the creative power that is present in the Lego brick.”
The hundreds of entries were judged by Lego designers from the home base in Denmark. In their decision to make Hetherington’s piece a finalist, they noted it “interestingly puts people (instead of their creations) front and centre … this design gives the builder a taste of the limitless ideas just waiting to burst out.”
Hetherington is a master at his craft.
He has won many awards at international Lego-building contests, with creations such as Lady Gaga and the stage castle from the singing artist’s Born This Way Tour (complete with 700 mini-figurine “little monsters”), the Joker and Batman duelling in Gotham City, and his giant Poseidon (a 1.4-metre statue of the Greek god of the sea sitting on his throne, overseeing an underwater world of battery-powered guard sharks and mermaids.)
The North Vancouverite estimates he owns three million Lego pieces, and points to the worldwide success of Lego artist Nathan Sawaya, a former lawyer who is one of the top-grossing creators of three-dimensional art in the world, as proof of respectability.
“Lego bricks are no longer just toys, they are art supplies,” Hetherington said. “I wanted to represent the AFOL (adult fan of Lego) community and the fact Lego is considered an art now.”
For Imagine it! Build it! to be produced, he needs 200 pre-sales of his 927-brick creation at bricklink.com. It costs US$69.99.