Meet Ki-Young Lee, the 'Lego Prince'


Can you make real art out of a toy? The Lego Prince proves that it’s possible

[This story first appeared in Koktail Magazine Issue 3.]

All photos courtesy of Ki-Young Lee

 

Ki-Young Lee, AKA Lego Prince, has had a thing for the colourful little building blocks ever since he was a little kid. Hailing from South Korea, he now garners quite a bit of attention from fans all over the globe for creating art with Legos, mostly in the form of cinematic stills or posters. Transforming well-known images, such as scenes from classic art or superhero movies, into Lego form and then adding on some visual effects, it’s a unique way of expressing his point of view as an artist as well as showcasing the possibilities of the medium.

“I like taking pictures,” says the artist, “but I wanted to do something different and work with graphic visuals.” He cites the masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo as long-time inspirations. Despite the popularity of his Lego versions of movie posters— catapulted by an early project for Lego Korea reimagining the Avengers: Infinity War poster—Ki-Young says he’s grateful that people seem to enjoy his interpretations of classic masterpieces, too. His all-time favourite Lego masterpiece is in fact The Creation of Adam, which took him a full month to complete and really showed him how he could incorporate photography with graphic design and Legos.

When he’s in the zone creating, Ki-Young takes into account every little detail—colour, light, motion, and composition. A film buff as well, he takes note of the composition and visual effects of any particular scene of a movie he’s recreating. “Watching movies is very helpful for me,” says Ki-Young about his artistic process.

The graphic design graduate dreams of having an exhibition with his name on it one day, and he’s not far off. “My work was recently displayed in a building in downtown Korea with other famous artists,” Ki-Young shares. “It was a truly exciting moment. The LED displays were so cool, and a lot of people could see them.”

Working with Lego Korea for four years now, Ki-Young tells us that the experience has changed his life; he is grateful that he gets to express his creativity through something he loves. “Although it takes hard work, it’s really worth it.” He adds, “I hope I can continue to work as I get older.” Ki-Young also hopes that his journey as an artist will bring him to meeting more people from different parts of the world. When asked what advice he’d give to any aspiring artists he crosses paths with, Ki-Young offers a Korean proverb: A good beginning is half the battle. “Once you start, you can move forward and eventually get to your destination. The start is what matters most.”