Banksy's work is an international art sensation, and now the mysterious street art is getting a makeover — in Lego.
Photographer Jeff Friesen and his 7-year-old daughter June build recreations of Banksy's playful paintings out of the toys, and take pictures of their versions which have caught the attention of art lovers across the Internet.
The project started last summer, when they started building other scenes out of Legos and photographing them together.
"It's a fun medium to work with, but also challenging with its limited geometry," Friesen, based in Nova Scotia, Canada, told TODAY.com of photographing the toys. "My daughter makes and photographs her own scenes. I try to stay out of her way as much as possible."
The father-daughter duo started by creating scenes from around their country, and the project spread from there.
"The first series was Lego Canada, which led to 50 States of Lego," Friesen said. "I began working on Lego London and wanted to include one of Banksy's iconic London works. It was hard to decide which Banksy to create in Lego, so I just started making all of them."
And the Lego project brings back fond memories for the photographer. "The first toy I can remember playing with is Lego," he said. "This is back when there were only a few rectangle-shaped pieces. After not playing with Lego for many years, it was amazing how the feeling of putting bricks together rushed me right back to childhood."
Friesen says Banksy's work also triggers childhood nostalgia. "I am a fan of Banksy's art and wit," he said. "(He) mixes humor with weighty subjects in a way that reminds me of 'Calvin and Hobbes,' which is my favorite cartoon strip."
You can find more of Friesen's work on his Instagram account, where he continues to catalog the scenes he builds with his daughter. His book, "United States of LEGO: A Brick Tour of America," featuring work from his previous project, hits shelves in September.
