Painting a message on the wall

Sunway’s Department of Art and Design students were recently commissioned to paint a mural on the wall of SMK Bandar Sri Damansara (1) with a theme to curb drug abuse. Four students together with lecturers Mr Nasaruddin Ahmad, Ms Sammy Chong and Ms Shahnila Mughees worked hard in designing and panting the murals to ensure the theme ‘Anti Dadah’ was properly attributed.

Original sketch of the mural painting.

Daniel Su Shanhua, a 22 year old Diploma in Interior Design said, “The entire experience was fun and interesting as this was my first experience in mural painting. I faced difficulty in transferring the drawing on to the wall and it was hard to get the proportion right. A straight line drawn on an A4 sized paper is not the same as drawing it on a wall. Tools like string and measuring tape are crucial in this process. Getting the accurate composition of the colour was also tricky as the colour changes when it is wet and dry,” he shared. Daniel thinks that the mural paintings may send a subliminal message to students in the long run as opposed to sending them a direct message.

The students working together with SMK Bandar Sri Damansara 1 students to complete the artwork.

Puvishanan Pushparaja, a Diploma in Graphic and Multimedia and Design said he found the mural painting activity an exciting way of exercising his skills in a setting outside the classroom. “This project was slightly larger in size than the usual projects I worked with and I found it challenging to paint within the time frame as we also had to accommodate to the changing weather.” Puvishanan said that mural paintings are a creative way of raising awareness on issues affecting the community.”

(From left to righ) Mr. Nasaruddin, Pn. Chew, Daniel Su, Doriana, Joel Wong with two students from SMK Bandar Sri Damansara 1.

Joel Wong Zhun Meng, also a Diploma in Graphic and Multimedia and Design felt delighted to be given the opportunity to participate in this project. He said, “Although I was at first nervous about the project, it taught me to appreciate a whole new experience. I thought it would be easy, but the project was time-consuming, tiring and challenging. But it was also fun as we were up for the challenge. I was able to contribute to the colours of the mural especially in mixing.” Doriana Teng Kin Moi, a Diploma in Interior Design student said, “I used my own water colour technique that I was familiar with since I was 13 to get the picture to come to life.”

The overall theme designed by Nasaruddin and Sammy illustrated the effect of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and inhalants (DACI) effectively as proposed by the school. Sammy said, “The use of the vibrant colours on the mural depicts happiness in life without the influence of DACI while the black and white parts represented the consequences of using DACI. The paper roll striking through the mural suggests that the continuous use of these items will tear the world apart. However if DACI is curbed, we will receive a second chance at life.”