Wodonga teenager Adrian Kaletta does not go many places without his favourite LEGO figurines.
The 15-year-old artist uses LEGO to build imaginary worlds in our own backyard – the Hume Weir, Woolshed Falls and the Bonegilla historic railway siding, to name a few.
During the pandemic, the home-schooled teen picked up a camera to capture these results of his work and now has an impressive gallery of images on display at Hyphen – Wodonga Library Gallery until August 10.
As Adrian’s first solo exhibition, A LEGO Adventure brings a playful perspective to familiar backgrounds.
Adrian recalls spending hours at the Bonegilla historic railway siding to get the perfect photo of a train set on the siding that once served the Bonegilla Migrant Camp.
One of Adrian’s favourite locations was the Porta sculpture on the Lincoln Causeway where he features The Child, better known as Baby Yoda, from The Mandalorian (Star Wars) series.
Adrian thought it was a fitting location given his mini figurine of Baby Yoda is holding its own ball.
Adrian admits he has watched Star Wars “a lot” and has lost count of how many LEGO sets of the franchise he actually owns.
His mum, Kylie, confirms their house is full of LEGO (mainly Star Wars, Harry Potter and Ninjago) but she has not once stood on any little pieces, as Adrian is careful to arrange and store his sets neatly.
“His imagination is great and he has always been the creative type,” she said.
“He has a great eye for detail and these photos were all taken before he had any lessons in photography.”
Adrian enjoys weekly outings with his support worker who also has a love of LEGO.
The pair recently explored Lake Mulwala, taking photos of a pirate shipwreck at the empty lake.
“I love to spend my days having fun with LEGO, drawing and doing arty things,” Adrian said.
“Art allows me to escape into my imagination.”
Last year, Adrian was awarded a Highly Commended in the Australian Photography Photographer of the Year (Junior).
He hopes to take his photography even further after starting a digital photography course at Murray Art Museum Albury.
Adrian’s works from the exhibition are for sale and postcards are available from the Hyphen Shop.
This exhibition has been supported by the Victorian Government through the FReeZA program.
Adrian was fortunate to take part in two days of work experience at Hyphen where he had a hand in taking down the previous exhibition and hanging his own works.
To enjoy more of Adrian’s work visit www.adriankalettaartworks.com