You wouldn't guess that expensive crystals and Lego were a natural match, but Australian artist Cimon's unique style has won over fans including Paris Hilton
Junior reporters (from left)Sally Kim, Doris Lam, Yasmin Subba, and Suskihanna Gurung were given a tour of Cimon's art and even learned how to decorate folders with crystals.We sent our junior reporters to check out what all the fuss was about and see if they could add a little bit of sparkle to their own lives.
Learning to dazzle
After seeing the beautiful Lego and Swarovski crystal sculptures that Cimon had created, we were a bit worried that he was expecting us to make something similar!
So we were relieved when he led us to the table and told us that instead of making a sculpture we'd just be decorating folders with crystal pieces instead. It seemed like a much easier task!
We crowded around the table to watch a demonstration by Cimon on how to stick the crystal pieces onto the folder. He made it look pretty easy.
First, we had to delicately add small drops of hot glue, using a syringe, onto the folder. Then we used tweezers to pick up the tiny crystals one by one and stick them on. In fact, it wasn't as easy as it looked. Sometimes we'd smudge the glue on the folder.
Luckily, it still turned out nicely with the colourful crystals sparkling whenever we moved the folder.
We were proud of what we created.
Looking back at our task, even though we would sometimes get frustrated at not being able to pick up the crystals or would smudge the glue, the process was very creative and strangely relaxing.
Suskihanna Gurung and Doris Lam
All you need is sparkly love
Cimon's exhibition featured Lego sculptures from his collection Little Love Stories. The Australian artist's work certainly added a Christmas dazzle to Landmark North. "I swear I've stuck on at least a million crystals onto Lego," Cimon told us. Looking around his crystal-covered exhibition, you would think he was being modest.
Little Love Stories are twists on common phrases about love. One adorable piece, named Falling in Love, had Lego people "falling" off a hill and landing in a sparkling pool. Another piece, named Love for Sale, showed colourful crystal hearts for sale at a shop made of Lego.
Cimon said that Love for Sale could represent how some people think that love can be bought.
As well as being creative, Cimon also uses mechanics in his art.
The piece Love Goes Around is a Lego carousel that actually spins, and each horse also moves up and down.
The exhibition's centrepiece is a very detailed Lego sculpture named Holiday Town. It took Cimon 18 months to complete it! It even has three toy trains built out of Lego, and like Love Goes Around, they actually move around the tracks.
Cimon took apart the town's Lego buildings floor-by-floor to show us the indoor scenes he had created. The scenes included Lego people going about their day, shopping, eating or wrapping presents.
We were lucky because peeking inside the buildings is usually only possible for the owner of the piece. We were amazed that the artist had put so much effort into an area that most people won't ever be able to see.
Cimon said that his aim was to bring people happiness through his art. As soon as we saw these heartwarming works of art, we knew Cimon had truly achieved his aim.
Sally Kim and Yasmin Subba
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