When building with LEGO bricks, most people opt for recreating something that mirrors our experiences. We draw inspiration from the real world — maybe we look to movies, literature, or some other media, but our creations look like things that exist…or could possibly exist…in our reality. What, then, should we make of the artistic abstractions of Crimso Giger? Even though they exist as physical models, these spaces are like nothing we’d expect to encounter. Crimso has combined geometric abstraction with sculpture, leading us into an unfamiliar world without giving us a roadmap.
Sure, you can try and make sense of these images by trying to force some sort of logic onto them. Take Abstract – Yellow Grey Black, for example. The choice of colors and shapes reminds me of the interior of a computer, or a cityscape that’s been bent like a scene from Inception or Doctor Strange. But that’s just my perspective – maybe this is something else entirely.

Abstract – White Black Red makes me think of gaming. The red and black tiles seem to form a checkerboard, and the black and white groupings remind me of backgammon boards and dice. But what is that construction in the center? Is the “x” shape in the 1x6x5 rectangular girder a call out to Tic-Tac-Toe? Have I completely missed the point? I just don’t know!

The colors of Abstract – Blue Yellow remind me of classic space, but the shaping reminds me of the stairways to nowhere in the Winchester Mansion. Where does that passage to the right lead? Anywhere? Everywhere?

Even when we get a more concrete title like Corridor, we’re still left to our own imagination. The walls feel like an intersection of multiple builds from Crimso’s photostream, lit from uncertain sources, leading us towards windows that look out onto the void.

I love it when LEGO creations give me a reason to stop and really look at a build. These images have done just that, but in a way that spoke to me beyond just “great part usage” or “clever building technique.” Here’s to the hope others will be inspired to step outside of the conventional with their next creation, too.