I did half of the work for this project: the sketches for the 2nd and last, and the rendering for the middle.
The rest was done by my classmate, Emma Regis.
Below is the creative brief for the work.
Our thought process for this artwork was that it needed to make sense for the library while also inspiring feelings of curiosity and welcome in the students and staff who use the space. We also needed to consider how we would connect our three panels and share elements with panels next to ours. We decided on a three-part story: the first panel depicts a world before stories and imagination, the second depicts the beginning of the transformation after stories are introduced, and the third depicts the final stage of the transformation. We didn’t want it to be associated with any particular piece of media or culture, so we made it essentially anonymous. I believe that the fact that it represents a concept rather than a reference makes it universal and timeless, which are, in my opinion, desirable qualities in a mural.
The artwork’s main message is that stories are essential and can add colour and vibrancy to one’s life. Books in general, not just stories. Books almost always have a positive impact, whether it’s a self-help book to guide you through how to improve yourself, learning new things with non-fiction books, or gaining a new perspective and newfound empathy by reading an autobiography by someone you don’t entirely relate to. We hope that by communicating this message to our student body, more and more of them will take the time to browse and possibly even read the books in the library. I’m aware that the themes of diversity and inclusion aren’t as prominent in the piece as they are in the library’s existing artwork. But, like most of the people we interviewed, we didn’t want our artwork to be just another version of what was already there. In all honesty, I believe that having the main character, if you will, be an everyman, includes more people than a single artwork or even an entire set of artworks could.
In terms of aesthetics and colour choice, we wanted the colours to serve as symbolism for our story. As the character progresses from empty and listless to fulfilled and grounded, the panels change from grey and fuzzy to colourful and vivid. In order to nail down ideas and art styles we wanted to incorporate into our work, we, along with the groups we had to work with, created a mood board. Overall, I believe we had a good process and produced something we were both proud of.