To celebrate the launch of the new LEGO Disney Castle and honour 100 years of Disney, London based artist Lakwena Maciver has unveiled her latest artwork, Kaleidowaves, a 4.5m tall castle window inspired by the storytelling possibilities of the new LEGO set.
The Kaleidowaves mural was recently unveiled in London with Lakwena’s children, Aroko aged four and Makelo aged six, placing the last of the mural’s 220,000 LEGO bricks in place.
The new LEGO Disney Castle is a celebration of the playful joy and creativity that the LEGO Group and Disney have inspired in families around the world over the past 24 years. Since the first LEGO Winnie the Pooh set was unveiled in 1999 to the hidden time capsule in the new LEGO Disney Castle, the two brands have helped fans share the wonder of Disney storytelling by inspiring children, and adults, to reimagine fan-favourite moments through LEGO play.
Talking about the inspiration for her mural, Lakwena referenced the Disney characters that inspired her creativity as a child, and those she sees sparking the imagination of her two sons today: “When I lived in Ethiopia as a child in the 90s, there wasn’t access to many films, so we would watch Disney videos on repeat. Later, when living in the UK, I also remember visiting my uncle in the Ashdown Forest, which inspired Winnie the Pooh, and we would play Pooh Sticks on Pooh Bridge.
And now, with my young family, films like The Lion King offer a nice way for me to talk to my children about our ancestral homeland. The idea of magical possibilities that Disney captures so well definitely had a big impact on my imagination as a child, and has therefore informed my adult work and life as an artist.”
We caught up with the artist herself this week to learn more.
What was the brief?
The brief was to integrate these iconic Disney characters into a castle window to be made into two giant LEGO murals built with LEGO bricks, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Disney and the launch of the new LEGO Disney Castle set.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
It was really fun. My favourite part was talking with the LEGO design team about what was possible and any queries I had. I found it really exciting that there’s this whole team of people who are experts at working with LEGO bricks in their workshop, and who would be taking my drawings to transform them into giant LEGO murals.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
I love working organically so once we had the characters locked in, I worked on a composition for the artwork, finding the right place for each character. I then began to draw around them, working with the different forms and finding a way to bring them all together, whilst keeping them in their own worlds.
What was the production process like?
I started by drawing the concept for my designs and incorporating the characters in the style that I wanted for each mural. This allowed me to be very fluid with my design and play with shapes and colours. Once I was happy with the composition, I transformed it into Illustrator where I could then tweak the design and play with different elements.
The design for ‘Kaleidowaves’ was then shared with the LEGO design team who transformed it into a brick pattern, so they could then build the mural in London. My second mural ‘Colourays’ will be crowd-built by families in Arndale Manchester between 14th -16th July.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
I think the biggest challenge overall was finding a way to make the artwork hold together as one. My mural, ‘Kaleidowaves’ features nine Disney characters, some of which inspired me as a child, and they all have their own story.
So, it was important that my design showed them in their own worlds, whilst still portraying a castle window as a whole. I am really happy with the result and love how the characters work together with my style.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
For the design: Posca pens, paper, MacBook Pro, scanner, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop.
For the mural: 220,000 LEGO bricks and elements
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
The whole project is taking place on a global scale. I am working alongside two other artists, Amy Jones in France and Kristin Texeira in the USA, who have each designed their own castle window, which has been made into a LEGO mural.
Families will now help build each of the LEGO murals and I just love that sense of global community coming together to be creative. Once built, my work will be displayed in LEGO House in Billund, Denmark.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
The whole campaign is about celebrating the playful joy and creativity that both the LEGO Group and Disney have inspired in families all over the world. The Disney Castle is a symbol of storytelling possibilities and I love that I have been able to bring that to life with my mural designs, but that families will also get the chance to build my mural (and those of the other artists) at LEGO building events throughout July.
The idea of magical possibilities that Disney captures so well definitely had a big impact on my imagination as a child and has therefore informed my adult work and life as an artist.
When I lived in Ethiopia as a child in the 90s, there wasn’t access to many films, so we would watch Disney videos on repeat. Later, when living in the UK, I also remember visiting my uncle in the Ashdown Forest, which inspired Winnie the Pooh, and we would play Pooh Sticks on Pooh Bridge. And now, with my young family, films like The Lion King offer a nice way for me to talk to my children about our ancestral homeland.
To work on a project that celebrates the new LEGO Disney Castle set is perfect, as it is full of creativity and storytelling moments – and it has key references to some of the best-loved Disney movies from the last 100 years.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
My design process for the two murals took about three weeks. Then the LEGO model team took over to build my main mural ‘Kaleidowaves’, which took about four weeks. But now, it is down to families to complete my mural in Arndale Manchester between 14th-16th July.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
I hope that it is a nice celebration for Disney. 100 years is a really significant length of time to hold the position that they do in our culture. I also hope it inspires families to be creative, either at the family building events or via the online castle window decorator that you can find at www.lego.com/castle.
Credit list for the work?
Artist - Lakwena Maciver
The LEGO design team and model building team
My studio manager Ama Dogbe
My studio digital artworker Tino Mara
Lakwena’s design is part of a series of four murals created with two other artists that were inspired by Disney as children, Paris-based Amy Jones and US-based artist Kristin Texeira. The murals feature some of their favourite Disney characters from the last 100 years including Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Woody, Ariel, Tiana, Mirabel, Buzz Lightyear and Daisy Duck, who also now feature in LEGO | Disney sets, surrounded by the artists’ own unique style.
