From Laos to Legos: Vadnais Heights man uses toy bricks to share Hmong culture

VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - For Greg Rhodes, Legos are the building blocks to recreate his favorite moments from a galaxy far, far away. Now he is using his lifelong love of the tiny toy bricks to tap into the tapestry of the Hmong experience.

"I am amazed at the stories that Legos can tell," said Rhodes.

A story cloth (FOX 9)

Background

For decades, story cloths have woven Hmong culture and history into works of art.

Hmong women living in refugee camps in Thailand after the Vietnam War started creating hand-embroidered textiles to sell to make money for their families.

"It just tells the story of how we escaped during the fall of Laos in 1975 and how we crossed the Mekong River to get to Thailand, where eventually you would find a refugee camp and stay there until you were sponsored and got to go to a host country such as the U.S.," said Rhodes' wife Pang Foua, who is Hmong.

For community elders, story cloths are a way to pass along legends, traditions, and folklore to younger generations.

"It's an heirloom and most families would like their children to have one for later, just as part of their history," said Pang Foua.

Pang Foua explains the significance of story cloths.

What are they doing?

When Rhodes finished his last large-scale Star Wars Lego set, his wife provided the inspiration for his next project.

"She said, 'What if you did a story cloth?' and all of a sudden my eyes lit up because I've always loved them. It was actually the first gift my then girlfriend, now wife ever gave me was a little tiny story cloth. Then I was up till 3 a.m. ordering parts," said Rhodes.

For the next six and a half weeks, Rhodes created his own story cloth out of Legos.

The 3D diorama details how the Hmong fought with the Viet Cong, fled for their lives, and arrived in Thai camps before coming to the United States.

Rhodes custom-made several special pieces and even created traditional Hmong clothing for the figurines in the scenes.

"To my knowledge, there's nobody else who has ever made Hmong minifigs. I can't find anything on the internet about it and people have just loved seeing themselves in the Legos," said Rhodes.

The Lego diorama

Reaction

When Rhodes posted pictures of his paj ntaub, as the story cloths are called, on social media, they went viral, wracking up thousands of views.

Since then, he's hosted a handful of storybuilding workshops to help members of the Hmong community share their own stories through the popular toys.

"I had an older lady. they were looking at this. I was explaining it. and then she pointed down to one of the people crossing the river on bamboo, and she said, 'That was me'. She crossed with bamboo under her arms," said Rhodes.

Rhodes says his Lego story cloth has been embraced by grandparents and grandchildren alike.

"I've heard people say, 'I've actually not heard my parents talk about this traumatic event. But seeing the paj ntaub, the Lego paj ntaub has helped them to tell the story again. So that's probably the most beautiful piece of it," said Pang Foua.

What's next?

Rhodes' newest creation is a Lego version of the Hmong New Year celebration at the St Paul Rivercentre.

It's even more elaborate than his last, with 200 figurines and everything from food vendors and performance stages to traditional Hmong games. There are also mini versions of Olympic gold medalist and St Paul Native Suni Lee and Union Hmong Kitchen chef Yia Vang, as well as Rhodes and his wife with their story cloth.

"I had a little extra space. I thought that would be kind of cute. It's sort of like some artists paint themselves into their work. I built myself into my work," said Rhodes.

Rhodes has also started an online store called Hmong Bricks that sells Hmong-inspired figurines and clothing he designed himself. So members of the Hmong community can continue to lay the foundation for a more inclusive future.

"I hope they see themselves in these works and in some ways as a result, affirms them and affirms their life, affirms the things that are important to them," said Rhodes.

If you want to see Rhodes' Lego creations for yourself, they will be on display at Brick Fest Live at the Minneapolis Convention Center this weekend.