Brisbane Airport says its newest artist-in-residence will build two pieces of artwork showing people’s favourite travel experiences completely from Lego bricks.
In May, Brisbane Airport said it was looking for a Lego enthusiast for the third edition of its “artist-in-residence” program, which has featured artist Robert Brownhall and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in previous years.
The airport said on Friday it had selected Ben Craig for the position.
Craig will spend the next 12 months working on the BricksBNE project recreating travel experiences submitted by passengers using Lego bricks, as well as two major pieces illustrating a day in the life of Brisbane Airport and a “detailed model of a new aviation wonder”.
“Airports are full of stories, and beyond spending the year bringing together two major passions, aviation and building with LEGO, I am excited to have the opportunity to engage travellers, illustrating their stories and travel experiences with LEGO bricks,” Craig said in a statement.
Although not a full-time job, the Legoist-in-residence would participate in events such as random Lego chats, planning sessions and corporate appearances, with hours required at the airport flexible.
Brisbane Airport chief executive Julieanne Alroe said Craig, whose previous Lego works include a model of London’s St Pancras train station and clock tower, beat out a packed field of candidates for the role.
“The number of applications we had from all over Australia and as far away as India was quite surprising and the way in which people are building art-forms with LEGO bricks is very impressive,” Alroe said.
“Ben blew us away with his skill and artistic ability in creating incredibly detailed mosaic pictures and large scale 3D artworks with the bricks.
“This is the first year passengers through Brisbane Airport will have the opportunity to be really hands on in workshops and influence the artworks themselves and we’re really looking forward to seeing the result.”
Brisbane Airport published a time-lapse video of Craig building the international terminal model on its YouTube channel.
