Art finds a Home at NUS Law

Have you noticed the newly minted wall art, located at the Block B Level 1 corridor?

Painted in vibrant colours that reflect student life here, the mural showcases four animals –  the eagle, wolf, antelope and lion. These animals, represent the four houses at NUS Law, respectively – Greagles, Vermillion, Azura and Solaris.

       
Photo credit: Bryan Foo ’23

The house system was trialled in 2018 and was officially implemented from 2019. Students are assigned to these houses when they join the NUS Law Freshmen Orientation in their first year. They are introduced to house seniors who serve as mentors and are responsible for providing guidance and support.

Being part of a house community helps to ease freshmen into university life, allowing them the opportunity to develop a network that extends beyond their orientation groups, and ensuring that they will always have someone to turn to who has experienced the trials and tribulations of being a Year 1 student.

Each house is led by a committee comprising of Year 1 students. In pre-COVID times, the committees would organise the annual sporting Inter-House Games, fostering strong bonds through healthy competition. Currently, the houses have managed to host online study sessions this academic year. The students are also hoping to further expand the range of activities to include other senior-junior interactions, as soon as the situation permits.

Photo credit: Bryan Foo ’23

Interview with NUS Law Art Directors – Lee Yunze and Cynthia Li

How did the wall art mural project come to life?

NUS Law Arts Club was approached by a pair of Year 1 students, Leanne and Ben, who felt that despite all the activity and bustle of the NUS Law community, our campus itself does look a little plain (there’s enough gloom and doom in our textbooks!). They asked to start a murals project to liven up the school building and make it a more vibrant space for us to study in. We fully agreed with them and we started the process of making this mural project a reality (with hopefully more to come!). Thanks Leanne and Ben!

“Hope this mural manages to spark a bit more appreciation for the arts, fun and light-heartedness!” – Leanne, Year 1

Did it take long to put the design together on paper before it was sprayed onto the wall?

We spent about a week collecting student feedback on ideas and elements for the mural design. The initial painting process was conducted as a workshop by the professional artists from DPLMT, so we got to try out the painting as per the photos. But the overall design and painting were done by professionals from the artist group DPLMT (pronounced as “diplomat” – @DPLMT) over 2 days.

“Looking forward to more opportunities to contribute to our student community in more creative ways!” – Ben, Year 1

For the painting behind-the-scenes, visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmTyVNYg. Photo credit: Bryan Foo ‘23

Also check out the video produced by Jaypy Pillay ’22 on how the mural was created, here.

For students who have not been allocated to a house, they may wish to send an email request to the Law Club MC’s Honorary General Secretary at hongensec@nuslawclub.com.