Guernsey museum unveils Lego exhibition tracing world history

Thousands of Lego bricks have crossed the Channel from the UK to Guernsey, forming the centrepiece of a new exhibition that traces chapters of world history through the toy brand’s distinctive plastic blocks.

Walk Through History in Lego Bricks opened on Friday at the Brian White Gallery, part of Guernsey Museum at Candie, and runs until 31 December. The models were shipped to the island by sea and built by a team of UK-based Lego artists led by Warren Elsmore, filling five themed areas of the gallery that explore exploration, discovery, science and equality through brick-built scenes.

Senior curator Matt Harvey said the toy’s broad appeal made it an ideal way to engage visitors with the past. “Lego is one of the most iconic toys … and it was a perfect combination of an entertaining colourful medium and teaching history at the same time,” he said. The collection spans extremes of scale: tiny builds, including Concorde and Titanic models small enough to fit in a hand, sit alongside a medieval castle measuring 1.5m (4.9ft) square and what Harvey called “some very grand models.” The level of detail, he said, rewards visitors who take their time over each scene rather than passing quickly from one to the next.

Harvey’s personal favourite recreates the London Blitz of World War II: a devastated street scene with an overturned red double-decker bus and tiny figures scrambling through rubble after a bombing raid. “Because there’s so much detail you can spend a lot of time just poring over a model picking up lots and lots of different things,” he said.

Helen Glencross MBE, the museum’s head of culture and heritage services, predicted a strong turnout from both residents and tourists. “We know this exhibition will be hugely popular with local audiences and visitors alike,” she said, calling it “a wonderful opportunity to explore world history from a unique perspective and enjoy some truly impressive Lego artistry.”

Source: BBC News