I’m almost certain that when Jeff Hindman found the 50-kilo exact toy replica, floating in knee-deep water he probably thought someone had spiked his sun cream with liquid acid. Fortunately, it was just part of a creepy Dutch artist’s experiment, for what I’m not exactly sure.

In a bizarre twist, the giant toy was wearing a shirt with the grammatically incorrect words, “NO REAL THAN YOU ARE”, emblazoned on the front of his shirt and the artist’s name, Ego Leonard, on the back.

Initially it was thought that the stunt was part of a guerilla PR campaign by Legoland, but a spokeswoman for the company said that as much as Legoland would like to, they take no credit for what happened.

A quick Google of  “Ego Leonard” will take you to his website, which includes photos and links to videos of the Lego Man’s adventures around the world including an August 2007 Youtube video of the Lego Man washing up on the shores of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands. In October 2008, he showed up on the shores of Brighton, England, according to the BBC. The site also includes some psycho artist babble that leads me to believe that he thinks he’s from another planet.

“I am here to discover and learn about your world and thoughts,” he writes. “Show me all the beautiful things that are there to admire and experience in your world. Let’s become friends, share your story with me, take me with you on a journey through beautiful meadows, words, sounds and gestures.”

Unfortunately for Ego Leonard, his last escapade landed Lego Man in a local jail, with the sheriff holding him hostage until someone claims responsibility. And, instead of claiming responsibility old Ego is sending emails to The Herald-Tribune that go a little something like this:

“In case people want to take me on new adventures, just that you know, I have been invited to stay here for 90 days, everybody is welcome to show me all the beautiful surroundings while I am here.”

One word. Cooked.

[Source: latimes]