Art meets Science: Graffiti artist Ledania completes a collaborative mural at NUS High

By Mae

Entitled "Looking Beyond", this mural was completed by established graffiti artist Ledania and a group of students from NUS High school for Mathematics and Science (Tan Shim Yean, Mak Wy-Ning, Ong Hui En Jenise, Lee Xin Tong) who are intending to embark on their journeys as art majors. Known for their specialised advanced mathematics and science programme, NUS High has attracted some of the brightest minds in Singapore. In line with the school's interests to promote a holistic education for their students, the main idea for this mural was to utilize art as a medium to beautifully meld together the science and arts.

To guide these budding artists, NUS High had brought on Diana Ordóñez (b.1987), also known as Ledania. An established Colombian-born contemporary graffiti artist, she was inspired by the bright colours of Latin American graffiti, to create vivid and bold illustrations for this mural. The vibrant colours in this collaborative mural rings through to Ledania’s artistic style while also conscientiously chosen by the active involvement of the students to reflect their artistic vision.
The contrary holds as well, with technology helping the students create this piece of art. They not only calculated the dimensions and measured the borders of the mural but also used mobile applications to superimpose their sketches onto the wall as guidelines. The entire process of spray painting is extremely technical as well - depending on the precision, pressure and distance of the spray nozzle. Thus, through ‘Looking Beyond’, science contributes to art and vice versa, with the two intertwining and being mutually dependent.

In the mural, there are two figures, a male and a female, cast their gaze away from the audience and into the future which is optimistic and full of hope. These futuristic figures are surrounded by lush and verdant greenery which form the background of the mural. This is in line with Singapore’s global image as not only a buzzing metropolitan city, but a botanic paradise as well.

Perched on the heroine’s shoulder is the native Singapore hornbill, which frequents the island and even the school grounds occasionally too. There are several other prominent symbols that feature throughout the mural, such as iconic landmarks unique to Singapore like the Cloud forest and Flower Dome in Gardens by the Bay. As for the conical flasks of liquid and crystals, they represent the subject of Chemistry. The UFO, a representation of a futuristic world where art meets science, is in the shape of an inverted frisbee which adds a personal touch to the mural as the students enjoy playing frisbee in their leisure time. The school logo is also included, tying the theme back to the school.

This creative and colorful mural definitely brightens up the atmosphere of the study area and transmits a positive message of looking onwards and upwards to bright futures ahead!
Completed date to paint the mural: 12/11/2020-13/11/2020