Actress Samira Wiley is sharing a unique take on the self-portrait. The “Orange Is the New Black” star teamed up with LEGO Group for her “Pieces of Me” self-portrait. She posted a photo on her Instagram account sitting in front of the 5-foot tall art work.
“Super excited to reveal that, together with @LEGO Group, we’ve built a mind-blowing portrait of YOURS TRULY using 41,000 LEGO bricks! We also go deep on my journey to self-discovery and the power of play in an article featured on Rolling Stone. Check it out online – and let’s ALL celebrate the pieces that make us who we are,” Wiley captioned the image.
The portrait was unveiled in Rolling Stone Magazine for Pride month. LEGO and Wiley collaborated to celebrate the power of creative self-expression within the LGBTQIA+ community during this year’s Pride. Wiley explained in her interview with the magazine that she enjoyed her experience while collaborating to create the portrait.
“I realized quickly what amazing passionate, caring, thoughtful people I was working with. It was quite striking. They were able to help me appreciate me and my story. It was incredible to walk into a room and have people really walking the talk,” Wiley said.
She labelled the experience as a “very uplifting, rewarding process.”
“Being able to investigate and think critically about different parts of my life, I was very encouraged by the team. I would leave these meetings sometimes in tears, and so inspired. I’m always inspired by someone else’s creative process and the way they think about the world and art,” Wiley said.
Pieces of Me
According to WebWire, the 41,000 piece took over 200 hours to create and consisted of multiple 3-hour creative meetings with Wiley. She shared her personal stories and anecdotes. The labor-intensive artwork includes pieces from Wiley’s life like two of her tattoos that represent her West African heritage.
“There’s one called Nsoromma which is a West African Adinkra symbol. It’s the first tattoo I ever got. It means ‘child of the heavens.’ For me it symbolizes that my presence here on Earth is not a mistake. It’s divine,” Wiley said.
Wiley’s portrait will be on display from June 8 to August 23 in Billund, Denmark.