Photos © Ela Bialkowska/OKNO studio. © Images courtesy of the artist and Galleria Continua

The Design Museum in London has unveiled an artwork by Ai Weiwei titled Water Lilies #1. Made of Lego bricks, it will be part of the exhibition ‘Ai Weiwei: Making Sense’, set to open to the public on 7 April and remain on view through 30 July.

This work is a recreation of Claude Monet’s monumental triptych Water Lilies (1914–26), currently in the collection of the MoMA in New York. Made from nearly 650,000 studs of Lego blocks in 22 colors, Water Lilies #1 is over 15 meters long. The French impressionist’s oil brushstrokes are replaced by Lego pieces that turn out pixel-like, suggesting contemporary digital technologies.

© Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio