We sat with LEGO meme factory, Iain Heath, who immediately revokes my Gen-X card, schools us on the not-so-subtle art of going viral, and tells us what it’s like to hobnob with celebrities. Hilarity ensued! Grab yourself a good beverage and a bag of popcorn and join us as we lift the hood and try to figure out what makes him tick. Hint: I’m pretty sure it’s London Dry Gin and Jägermeister.
TBB (Lino) Thanks for being with us, Iain. I’ve known you for many years as an artist who engages in several mediums including video making, painting, and LEGO. No matter the medium, you have been consistently irreverent and funny as all get-out. Our readers likely know you by the formidable name of Ochre Jelly (I had to google what that was). How did you choose this name and is the Ochre persona different from Iain, or are they one and the same?
IH: The name comes from a monster in D&D. Lino, as a fellow Gen X-er, I can’t believe you did not already know this, but also not have its stats memorized. For shame… I think the only fitting punishment here is to confiscate your vinyl copy of Sports by Huey Lewis and the News. Bro, do you even D20?!
IH: The name is less of a persona and more a mask to hide behind, as I think many of us online prefer to do. Some people are comfortable putting their own identity and persona front and center of their art, especially creators who make a living from it, or posting daily, or want to use their personality as part of their brand (I’m looking at YOU Lego Masters contestants!). But in my experience you are more likely to just run into people’s prejudices that way (which in my case usually means age-ism, as I am older than Cthulhu). I’d prefer to be seen as a Lego Banksy, using my art to anonymously poke fun at the world, rather than “some old dude with too much free time on his hands”. Not to say that I don’t sometimes step in front of the camera for the sake of The Bit.
Click here for more not-to-be-missed hijinks from Iain!
