“Thinking Children”

"Thinking Clhildren"is a name I have given to my mural at the Sunrise Children’ Village in Phnom Penh Cambodia

Within the heart of the conglomerate of The Sunrise Children’s Village there is a uniquely designed building to be used as a musical centre, where music students could learn, practice, and play music. The building looks like a huge three-meter-high pipe made of concrete, with a cup in the shape of a boarder hat at the top.  The total external circumference surface of the building is approximately 86 square meters including two doors and six windows.

Sunrise Children’s Village is like a river in which many abounded, homeless, and orphan children flow through constantly - some come to join the crowd and some leave to another level of care.

The children notice the building every day, and some of them use the building as a musical centre. They are all influenced by its spatial particularities, its inclusive purpose, and the content of its exterior and interior space.

I believe an exterior mural within the children’s living and learning environment should contain life enhancing images. Such images encompass learning capabilities about human and the environment and have positive and encouraging effect on children. The mural should create a special place for all of the children, including those who may never use the building to learn and practice music. Such a mural should intend to bring hope, appreciation of life and its manifestations, such as nature, music, beauty, and so on. The mural is a wonderful brain-building visual stimulus; therefore, it should enrich the learning environment as one of the most important foundations for a child's brain development. In an enriched environment, children find opportunities to experience life through touching, listening, playing, dancing, looking, and so on.

Thousands of people from around the world come to visit the Village every year. These visitors either are sponsoring or are potential sponsors in the future. These visitors are part of the Village’s community which respect and support the children’s right to be happy and become a healthy world citizen.  The mural should act as an art temple, which transmit a sense of hope, care and respect for children and the environment as the two most precious elements of our future. The visitors should enjoy viewing the mural and take a positive message with them.

As an artist, I have been assigned a tiny spec of the universe, and I have had the intention to make it as meaningful and beautiful as possible within the time and material constrains. I feel proud and fulfilled in creating a mural which would have positive influence in the children as well as the adult.

Content

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are the most dominant part of this mural. It represents the Village itself, Geraldine the founder of the Village and her main messages of love and light. Sunflowers are also a symbol of abundance, happy and shiny faces which transmit positive energy to the viewers. I also interpreted the section as the heart and the diamond on the ring-like building, and it represents the sparkling and shining soul of Geraldine.

Butterfly

Butterfly is one of the most amazing creatures which emerge through a process of metamorphosis. A caterpillar becomes a colourful free-flying butterfly that loves light and flowers. It simply symbolizes change, freedom, fun and joy. Children always get excited by seeing a butterfly and love to follow it from place to place and from flower to flower. Putting several butterflies dancing together reflect the possibility of joyous moments of living, sharing and having fun together with others.

Rainbow

Rainbow is one of the most fascinating optical phenomenon and the most beautiful sight in the nature. It is a perfect sample of harmony and beauty within diversity. It is associated with the sun (light), and rain (water), and it is not around all the time; it happens only when certain conditions are available. Apart from its diverse symbolic and mythological explanations by many cultures, rainbow is colorful, positive and happy, and children always react with awe, surprise and smile.

Flying elephant,

Elephants are big, strong, earthy, and they look unfaltering. In most cultures, elephants symbolise physical and mental strength, and have been considered to bring good luck and prosperity. Elephants are huge, heavy, have no wings, and can’t fly.  Everybody, particularly children, loves an elephant ride; therefore, any images of riding a flying elephant enhances their imagination and bring smiles to their faces. We have seen many images and read fables of flying carpet. In this mural the flying carpet has become wings for the elephant and a seat for the children. This will enhance even more the positive effects of the image.

Tree of life

A tree of life, with its abundant and diverse fruits and leaves, is guarded by two strong animals, a bull and a tiger. They are looking straight at the viewers, warning them not to get close and destroy the tree. This implies the need for respect and protection of the environment and brings some hope to the children.

Monkeys playing music

Monkeys are funny active and intelligent. Children always get excited by seeing a monkey, especially, when monkeys are active in some way. In this mural, I have tried to paint funny images of a group of monkeys playing music, dancing and having fun. This brings fun to the children’s learning and playing music.

Balloons

Balloons are weightless, colourful, and a sign of good news and celebration. They always make kids happy and excited. It seems all kids want to fly upward with bunch of balloons. Here, the balloons, tied together, and they are soaring toward the sky. This has encouraged the undersea creatures to rush to break the boundary of the water and grab a means to fly toward the vaster space of the paradise. Among them there a couple of flying fish which have evolved to the next stage of living possibilities. They have grown wings on themselves.  

Flying birds

Flying birds are always a sign of freedom. I think it is a human’s desire to be able to fly like birds. Again, putting several birds dancing together reflect the possibility of joyous moments of living, sharing and having fun together with others.

Words and music notes

To create some means of encouraging children to word-hunt and create an opportunity to absorb ethical and moral messages, I have added the following word throughout the mural. The words are in three languages, Khmer, English, and Farsi (Persian). These words are:

Love, light, life, freedom, happiness, hope, peace, harmony, compassion, justice, concern, respect, caring, honesty, togetherness, cooperation, sharing, contribution, appreciation, fun, celebration, passion, talent, determination, imagination, discipline, creativity, integrity, challenge, balance, family, belonging, learning, nature.

Finally music notes have been scattered around through the mural in order to enrich the total visual effects and emphasizes the main purpose of the building.

I would like to acknowledge the valuable assistance I received from many children in painting images, writing the words and musical notes, adding creative visual stories, and therefore, making the mural more engaging, more childlike, and more personal. I had the most wonderful time designing and painting this mural.