Lawrence Yule’s engineering background stood him in good stead on Monday [May 16] morning, as he helped two youngsters keen to try out the components of an upcoming Hastings City Art Gallery’s art installation.

Benjamin Biddles-Brown (4) and his sister Lucia (8), hang out with mayor Lawrence Yule at the Lego table

The Hastings mayor, alongside Benjamin Biddles-Brown (4) and his sister Lucia (8), checked out the 50,000 pieces of white Lego that make up The cubic structural evolution project – an installation that relies on the viewing public to build it.

The building blocks arrived at Hastings City Art Gallery last week, and after the Monday try out are being stored until the exhibition opening on June 4.

The work is the brainchild of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. It has been installed across the world including in Tirana, Albania, Oslo, Norway, Copenhagen, Denmark, New York and Queensland, among other places. In New Zealand it has opened in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin.

More than 8000 people are expected to take part in Hastings in its 12 weeks in Hastings, says gallery director Toni MacKinnon.

Mr Yule said the interactive nature of the exhibition will draw a very broad audience to the Hastings District Council-funded gallery, creating a great opportunity to show first timers around the rest of the facility. “This Lego exhibition is brilliant, but it is just one of all the fantastic exhibitions that come to the gallery from across New Zealand and from overseas.”

MacKinnon is ready and waiting for the crowds expected to take a look. “This really is an amazing opportunity. We’re sure the public will embrace it – it is a very rare chance to be involved in what has proven to be a very popular installation across the world.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media