Ekow Nimako in front of one of his works at the "Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships" exhibit in Kelowna on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

You’re probably familiar with LEGO bricks, but not like this. Ghanian Canadian artist Ekow Nimako's show at the Kelowna Art Gallery tells a reimagined version of a sea voyage 700 years ago with plastic bricks.

Nimako was inspired by the story of Mansa Abu Bakr II, the ruler of the medieval Mali Empire in West Africa who took 2,000 ships to trek across the Atlantic Ocean.

He took the historic facts about the voyage and filled in the blanks with LEGO bricks to create the Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships exhibit.

A close up of Nimako's piece "Isla Ewi" on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

“It's really just allowing my imaginative landscape to flourish and incorporate little aspects of history in certain parts where I can. It was an Islamic empire, so sometimes in some of the pieces I'll add little elements that I feel are references to Islamic architecture,” he said.

People around the world consider themselves LEGO masters, but Nimako considers himself an artist first and the bricks are just a medium.

“What is a distinction between what I do and what a lot of people that have careers based on LEGO do, is that their focus is being a LEGO builder. That's what they are. They upscale and they expand. And yes, they even have some artistic sensibilities. But in my opinion, to do this, you have to be an artist first. The material is secondary,” he said.

A close up of "Bay of Banjul" by Ekow Nimako on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

Each sculpture in the exhibit has its own story, its own lore, and Nimako drew from history as well as his own imagination. During the exhibit, each story associated with the sculptures will be on plaques nearby to give viewers context.

He said it’s important to think about more than just the slave trade when discussing sailing in West Africa.

“The terrible transatlantic slave trade, yes that existed, yes it's a part of history and it's important to never forget, but it's also important to highlight that Africans were seafaring people as well. I want to focus on that part of our narrative more so than what has been essentially beaten to death,” he said.

A look at the architecture in Ekow Nimako's sculpture.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

The gallery show has a section for people to sit together and sketch some ideas about what they would build with some LEGO and a section with bricks for anyone to play around with.

“I know if I was seeing this as a kid I’d need to play with some LEGO right away,” Nimako said.

All of the bricks Nimako uses are regular ones that you could buy. He has a deal with the manufacturer to help him get the pieces he needs, especially since some of them are discontinued and hard to find.

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A figure in the sculpture "Isla Ewi" by Ekow Nimako.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

“There is this kind of thrill when people are surprised by what they see, because I've deliberately tried to remove what I call the ‘LEGOness’ from my artworks,” he said.

Usually LEGO creations are colourful and often goofy, but Nimako uses exclusively black bricks with different finishes to change how light reflects off the pieces. Each sculpture needs to be meticulously and carefully dusted to make sure people get the full effect.

“People encounter my work and they're surprised or shocked or intrigued or even sometimes they debate whether it's actual LEGO,” he said. “Honestly, I want to share my work everywhere, as much as possible.”

Ekow Nimako and one of his LEGO sculptures in the "Building Black Civilizations: Journey of 2,000 Ships" exhibit.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kelowna Art Gallery

The sculptures are made of more than half a million bricks and took more than 1,000 hours of labour.

If you have ever dropped someone’s LEGO creation and watched it shatter to pieces you’ll understand why some of the sculptures have the bricks glued together and some have hidden metal frames to keep them intact.

The exhibit opens Saturday, May 23, and there's a special Block & Build: A LEGO Night at the Gallery event, June 4.

"Isla Ewi" by Ekow Nimako at the Kelowna Art Gallery on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

"Asamand" by Ekow Nimako at the Kelowna Art Gallery on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

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