This scene, installed in a real lake, is built entirely out of 57,132 LEGO bricks and features five giant lily pads, a jumping koi fish, a frog and a water lily (lotus bloom). See more photos of the frog (and the koi, tomorrow!)
The lily pads are replicas of the Giant Victoria Waterplatter, 5 feet across each — which as is how large these amazing plants actually grow. Each contains 10,598 LEGO pieces (52,990 total).
The sculptures were installed in April 2012 at Reiman Gardens in Iowa as part of my traveling exhibition, Nature Connects. In October 2012 it will travel to it’s next location, so stay tuned for updates!
Building it
Each lily pad took over 60 hours build by my team and I. Each piece is glued one-by-one and a steel armature helps keep the sculpture elevated above water level.
They are huge! Eun Nye, Jung Ah, and Ji Yoon build the first lily pad with over 10,000 LEGO pieces.
David, Jung Ah, and Eun Nye as they fasten the LEGO sculpture to the underside of the steel armature
The sculptures were assembled in my New York City art studio, then custom-crated in museum-quality exhibition crates for my new show, Nature Connects, which is currently touring the United States
