Chinese International School

rope art fence mural

In May 2024, I had the opportunity to lead an intensive 2-day workshop with secondary school students at the Chinese International School. The aim of the project was to create a large-scale, collaborative fence mural using rope.

The students first worked in groups of 2-3 to design their own fence artwork from scratch. The design inspiration came from the school's 5 house colors: purple, blue, green, yellow, and red. Using these colors, the students created pixel-based designs in the shape of a dragon, shark, crocodile, tiger, and bull's head. They also incorporated the Chinese characters for the school's 5 core values into their designs.

The students carefully planned out their pixelated designs to correspond with the metal squares on the fence grid. They first made prototypes on a smaller, hand-held metal grid to test their ideas, practice the technique, and finalise their designs.

Once everyone was confident in their plans, we moved on to begin the final mural on the school fences. The students exhibited excellent teamwork and worked diligently to complete all the fences within the designated time frame.

I always enjoy collaborating on projects at schools because I learn something new from the students and teachers. For example, while I typically create my artworks using Illustrator, the students utilised a range of tools, including Minecraft, Procreate, and of course good old-fashioned graph paper. They also incorporated different weaving patterns and even added crochet details as a finishing touch.

It was a wonderful project to work on with the Chinese International School students. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to collaborate with them and learn from their unique perspectives and creative approaches. The final fence mural is a vibrant, meaningful addition to the school's campus.