RELICS: A New World Rises

If you have ever spent an afternoon building or playing with a LEGO® set, you know the storytelling power of these tiny pieces of plastic. These toys have been transforming unassuming bricks and components into intricate and beautiful designs for decades. But you've never seen a LEGO® display quite like RELICS: A New World Rises.

RELICS is an exhibition at Melbourne Museum and is open until International LEGO® day — Sunday, January 28, 2024. It's not your average LEGO® exhibit, created by Alex Towler and Jackson Harvey (2020 winners of Channel 9's LEGO® Masters), it blends the iconic toys with real-world objects like you've never seen before. The premise? It's a journey through an imagined future where humanity is long gone, but remnants of our world still exist as discarded objects.

Eugene Hyland

Now, LEGO® minifigures rule and have crafted their society inside fragments of our own. Each of the 15 relics houses its society of tiny plastic denizens. From a grandfather clock reverse-engineered into a time machine to a cryogenics facility inside a vintage freezer, creativity truly ran wild with these designs so keep an eye out for familiar pieces and tiny visual stories. Almost every piece of the project was sourced secondhand to connect with the narrative and share a message of sustainability.

Visitors feeling particularly inspired can take advantage of an all-ages scavenger hunt or let their creativity take flight in the new 'Build-Your-Own-Zone'. From expert craftsmanship to astounding creativity and clever references throughout — this exhibition as a whole is highly recommended for LEGO® aficionados and newcomers alike.

RELICS: A New World Rises is open until Sunday, January 28, 2024. Tickets include general entry, to book or find more information, visit the website. 

Images: Eugene Hyland for Museums Victoria