LFAS Photo-Mosaic Mural

1. Inspiration

In our Photography 11/12 class we learned about JR, an anonymous street artist from France. JR is an unidentified individual who describes himself as a photograffeur, he pastes large black and white images onto billboards and buildings. JR examines local issues, connects with the people in the area, photographs them, and installs the giant images to leave a lasting impression on the area.

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2. Form a Leadership Team

After watching JR’s TED Talk we were inspired to create a mural for our school. A few students volunteered to be lead the team to create the mural. We met every week to discuss potential themes and prospective topics to research. We wanted to find a theme that was meaningful, inspiring and relevant. We began to brainstorm ideas that everyone in the school community could relate to, since we are in a school with Grades One through Twelve it was somewhat difficult.

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3. Butterfly Effect Develop/Research the Idea
Students proposed the idea as an inquiry topic to the Butterfly Effect class. The team worked collectively decided to focus on nature/environment, the community, and mental health. (LEPS) Langley Environmental Partners Society visited our class to share local issues and concerns. We spoke with local health officials/counselors to help us choose an area of concern. Also, an LFAS student connected to the Blaauw Forest shared her experiences in bringing awareness to the community of the forest. Students further developed their focus with the advice of Butterfly Effect teachers and community.

 

4. Capture the Photograph
Once we had our general topic, we needed to photograph it. The whole class went on a field trip to visit the forest and photograph it. Benoit Cecile returned several times to capture the right one. His panoramic image was the final chosen photo to be the theme behind the mosaic.

 

5. Photograph the LFAS Community
JR captures individuals and enlarges the images to a massive scale. But we wanted to include the whole school community in the mural, so we wanted to combine the images of the school community to form a mosaic image of the Blaauw Forest. So we booked several days to capture the whole school. Since one of the themes is mental health, we wanted to capture different expressions and moods of the individuals. We also got six different toned backgrounds so that the images would fit in different part of the whole image of the forest.

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6. Research How to Make a Photo-Mosaic
We were a bit worried that we were going to have to hand stitch the mosaic image by image in Photoshop. But this is the world of infinite possibilities in the digital domain; we were convinced that we would find a way. And Desi did, she found Mosaizer, a digital mosaic company. Sybren from the Netherlands was super helpful, respectful and professional. We could not have done it without his help. He followed through on his promise and was very reliable.

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7. Decide Location/Measure Size

We originally wanted the mural on the front of the school. When you arrive at the Langley Fine Arts School, it doesn’t look like much, just an Elementary school out in the suburbs. But the front wouldn’t work. It had to be high enough that it wouldn’t be defaced. Once we found the best wall, we needed to measure the size. 76 feet long by 14 feet tall.

 

8. Research Local Mural Printers & Get Estimates
The students emailed and requested several quotes. Some didn’t respond- maybe because they thought that high school students weren’t serious. It was frustrating.

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9. Process the Photos and Send to Mosaic Creator
We employed the whole class again to edit and unify the 5000+ portraits. The students were very helpful. It is amazing what you can get done with lots of helping hands.

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10. Proofing the Mural

It cost us extra to have Multigraphics print a proof of the exterior vinyl mural and the interior sticker version, but it was worth it. We made a few changes in the contrast and the final graphic to make sure it was what we expected. It also was exciting to see the image and to know what to expect.

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11. Set Back/Delay

Once the image was ready to go, we discovered that the exterior of the school was to be re-surfaced. We waited for months only to learn that we might as well go ahead since the project was not close to commencing. The mural will not be applied directly to the surface so when work begins, they can take it down and put it back up again.

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12. Portrait Exhibit

We decided to print out some of the more expressive portraits that were taken for the mosaic to share with the school while we waited to install the full mural.

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13. Local Sponsors

The Canadian Scholarship Trust grant covered the majority of the mural printing and installation costs. However, we wanted to display a smaller version of the mural inside of the school so that students and staff could find themselves, so the cost of the smaller mural brought us over our budget. We also needed financial help with the plaque, veil and celebration details. We asked the Langley Fine Arts School PAC, Bella & Wren, Mangia e Scappa, Fort Chiropractic and The Rustic Gourmet for help. They were super generous in helping us with the final touches. Thanks for your help, we could not have done it without you.

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14. Final Install

We were worried that the year would end before the mural went up. After waiting for  almost a year for the provincial government to re-surface the exterior of the school,  we decided to go ahead with the project even though the side of the school was unchanged. Once we gave the printing company the graphic, the mural installers came in two weeks with the whole thing. They had the mural up before noon and covered it up again right away for the reveal that Friday.

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15. Unveiling Celebration

Our mural is now installed at the back of the school, by the theatre, above the awnings portraying a picture of a forest made up of little pictures acting as pixels of all the students and staff in our school. It looks even better that expected. We had an unveiling party on Friday, May 19th. The whole school community and distinguished guests came for the reveal. See our page that shares more about the celebration.

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