Getting the dimensions right
Another amazing aspect of Formosan Sika Deer is the care taken to get the correct relative dimensions, and Chen’s technique of making the deer in separate modules. The work was executed at very close to life size, and the deer’s slender legs had to stably support the weight of its large body. This was the biggest technical challenge of the project. In addition, Chen’s decision to have the deer looking off to its right further added to the difficulty. Chen started by stacking Lego pieces into a framework. He then made the hindquarters as a solid piece, thus shifting the center of gravity toward the rear. And in order to make it easier to assemble and disassemble the deer at exhibition venues, he designed it in separate sections.
In 2014, at the invitation of the organizers of the Piece of Peace World Heritage Exhibit, Chen decided to take part with a representation of Longshan Temple, located in Taipei’s Wanhua District. Before ever touching a single Lego piece, he first snapped over 100 photos at the temple and studied Google satellite images of the site to determine the number of beams and columns at the temple and the dimensions of the temple buildings.
Chen first installed pieces around the edges of a baseplate to trace out the periphery of the temple premises before determining the precise dimensions of the temple pavilions. The height of his structures was set at a specific ratio to the height of the human figures.
The important details of the temple posed a challenge, for careful thought was needed to craft a Taiwanese-style temple from Western-style Lego architectural pieces. In the process, Chen developed entirely new ways to use the pieces. To represent the cut-and-paste ceramic dragons typically seen on the roofs of Taiwanese temples, Chen made do with snake figures. For the door guardians, he used mosaic techniques. Atop the temple’s carved dragon pillars, he employed jointed pieces to create an impression of the dragons’ heads.
Chen was very exacting with the interior of the temple, as well. He used Lego Oscar statuettes as Buddha statues, and he found ways to use Lego pieces and mosaic techniques to represent votive lamps and wall decorations. The golden glitter of Chen’s temple is every bit as dazzling as at Longshan Temple itself.
Not content just to make the outer shell of the buildings, Great B.W. goes into considerable detail with the interiors, as well. Shown here is the interrogation room on the second floor of The Police Station, complete with a tattooed man handcuffed to a metal rack along the wall.