Dear travel buffs out there, how would you like to travel the world in just an hour or two? In the Lego world, that is……..We did so at the ‘Piece of Peace World Tour – World Heritage Exhibit built with Lego Bricks’. Held at Fort Canning Art Centre, the exhibits are on display from 27 July to 3 September 2017. (PS: The World Tour has been extended to 10 September 2017.)
The Piece of Peace World Tour features 43 reconstructed UNESCO World Heritage sites from 34 countries using Lego bricks (source: The New Paper). There are familiar sights such as the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, just to name a few.
Started in Japan in 2003, Piece of Peace made its way across the country as a traveling exhibition. It first went overseas in 2013 with exhibitions in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Singapore is the first ASEAN country to host this exhibition. Since its inception, the exhibition has made more than 50 appearances. There is also a good chance that if you miss this one in Singapore, you may still be able to catch it elsewhere. 🙂
The main exhibition is held on 2nd storey of the Art Centre. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and since it was on a weekend, there was a constant stream of visitors.
The creativity expended in these creations and the patience required are really admirable. We could see the resemblance to the real thing in most. This was a good opportunity to introduce DL and CL to different sights around the world, by using one of their favourite medium: Lego bricks.
Each exhibit is accompanied with a tag describing the UNESCO site, the number of bricks, construction time it took to complete the reproduction and the challenges. With most of the glass casing and display table being over-sized, we were not able to go closer to the exhibits and admire the intricate details.
Here are some of the other selected exhibits we saw:
Borobudur Temple Compound, a Buddhist in Indonesia dating back to 8th and 9th centuries; a cultural site inscribed in 1991. The reproduction is made of 7,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 48 hours.
Angkor Wat of Cambodia, the largest temple monument in the world; a cultural site inscribed in 1992. The reproduction is made of 13,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 240 hours.
Complex of Hue Monuments, Vietnam; a cultural site inscribed in 1993. The reproduction is made of 35,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 288 hours.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Historic Areas of Istanbul, Turkey; a cultural site inscribed in 1985. The reproduction is made of 11,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 456 hours.
Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur, Egypt; a cultural site inscribed in 1979. The reproduction is made of 6,700 bricks with a construction time of approximately 120 hours.
The leaning tower of Pisa, Italy; a cultural site inscribed in 1987. The reproduction is made of 2,200 bricks with a construction time of approximately 96 hours.
The town hall and statue of Roland on the marketplace of Bremen, Germany; a cultural site inscribed in 2004. The reproduction is made of 10,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 480 hours.
The Sydney Opera House, Australia; a cultural site inscribed in 2007. The reproduction is made of 12,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 240 hours.
Rapa Nui National Park, Chile; a cultural site inscribed in 1995. The reproduction is made of 4,500 bricks with a construction time of approximately 240 hours.
Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines, Mexico; a cultural site inscribed in 1988. The reproduction is made of 10,000 bricks with a construction time of approximately 288 hours.
Some, though, appeared tad bit too abstract to me, like this reconstruction of Machu Picchu, Peru (2,000 bricks, 96 hours). Guess I really have to admit I’m just not artistic enough.
We watched video snippets of the actual sites on these big screen too.
Down on the 1st storey, there was a corner displaying brick creations with a local flavour. One of my personal favourite is this reproduction of a Tiong Bahru coffee shop.
DL and CL got to build their own Lego creations at Brick by Brick too. An activity zone in which participants get to create their own pieces using the all-white bricks.
Just before the exit, there are instant photo booths for visitors to create selfies with ‘Piece of Peace’ frames. We took some but they did not turn out as well as we hoped.
Those who are inspired to start building on their own can shop for their Lego sets at the Brick Shop near the exit.
We went with high hopes of the quality of the exhibition and certainly it did not disappoint.
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Useful information:
This theme exhibition only runs from 27 July 2017 to 10 September 2017 in Singapore.
Opening hours: 10:00 to 21:00
Facebook page: Piece of Peace World Tour – Singapore