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- To celebrate the launch of the new LEGO® | Disney Castle and Disney’s 100th anniversary, female artists Lakwena Maciver, Amy Jones and Kristin Texeira have created four giant castle window murals in LEGO brick inspired by the storytelling possibilities of the new LEGO set
- The first of four murals was revealed at Tower Bridge, in London, UK and is over 4.5m high and constructed of over 220,000 LEGO bricks
- Families will have the chance to celebrate their love of LEGO | Disney by building the other three murals in Manchester, Paris and New York City
London – 21st June, 2023: 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 today 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.”
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.
The three remaining murals will be available for families to build together at free events on July 7th-9th near the LEGO Store, Paris; July 14th-16th at the Manchester Arndale and July 27th-29th at Pier 17, The Seaport in New York. There is also an opportunity to create a LEGO castle window online at www.LEGO.com/castle, or visit a local LEGO Store to take part in LEGO | Disney building activities (visit www.lego.com/store for more details). The four complete murals will then be displayed at LEGO House in Billund from 23rd August 2023.
Talking about her approach to designing her LEGO mural titled Through the Magical Glass, France-based artist Amy Jones said, “I grew up near Orlando close to the Disney magic, so I will always feel a nostalgic connection to the inspirational world of Disney and its characters. Within my design, I wanted to remind people of the stories behind these Disney characters in my own creative style, full of exuberant colour and shapes, brick by brick.”
Meanwhile for New York artist Kristin, memory and nostalgia are fundamental to her work as she paints to preserve moments in time or to pay homage to people. Talking about her mural, called Stained Glass Memories, Kristin said, “I loved watching Disney films growing up. From Sleeping Beauty to Cinderella and Mulan, they left me craving to see more of the world and collect more stories from its people. One of the earliest Disney films I remember watching was Fantasia and it really stuck with me. The intertwining of music and colour in the film has been influential to the bringing together of colour and memory in my artwork. When I started work on my LEGO Disney mural, I began by experimenting with the bright bold colours of LEGO bricks and developed these into colours that represent my own memories from the films.”
The new LEGO | Disney Castle set is a homage of the iconic castle at the beginning of all Disney movies. The 4,837-piece features not only the castle building, but also references from 14 classic Disney films over the last 100 years, such as Steamboat Willie and Snow White (the first Disney Princess) to The Princess and the Frog and Moana. The set comes complete with eight minifigures, representing some of the Disney Princess characters and their male counterparts. Inside the castle is various rooms including a kitchen and dining room, a ballroom and bedroom. Each room has references to Disney films and characters and there is even a secret turret for fans to discover a Disney time capsule with references to the 100-year history. Outside, the castle is decorated with fireworks.
Talking about her role as the Creative Design Lead for LEGO | Disney, Benedikte Stamp said, “Over the last century, Disney has created some of the world’s greatest stories which are loved by generation after generation. Just like these stories, LEGO play transcends age, language, culture and interests to inspire millions of children to build and create anything they can image. As a designer, it’s my role to bring together the magic of the two brands and give fans of all ages the chance to celebrate their love for Disney stories through building.”
The new LEGO | Disney Castle set will be available globally via LEGO Stores and at www.LEGO.com/Castle for LEGO VIP EA members from 1st July 2023 and for all from 4th July 2023 at the recommended retail price of $399.99 / €399.99 / £344.99. During 1st to 9th July anyone who purchases select LEGO | Disney sets over £95/$/€100 in LEGO Stores or LEGO.com will also receive the LEGO | Disney 100 Years Celebration set for free, which features a podium, a movie screen, projector (which lights up), a desk and a Mickey Mouse minifigure.
ABOUT LAKWENA MACIVER:
Vibrant colour and bold text combine in Lakwena Maciver’s joyful and gently subversive work. Her paintings, murals and installations often reference everyday shared experiences and popular culture, such as songs, fashion and basketball. Bringing messages of hopeful possibility, Lakwena speaks to points of connection and commonality between people, with a utopian vision that dreams of redemption and liberation. Her approach is instinctive and autodidactic, producing visceral, rhythmic and immersive panel paintings, iconic murals and installations.
Based in London, her work has been shown internationally in cities including London, Paris, Rotterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, and at institutions including the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Somerset House, the Southbank Centre in London and the Rotterdam Kunsthal. Her works in the public realm have ranged from one of the largest public artworks in the UK wrapping an electrical substation in London, to a juvenile detention centre in Arkansas, a monastery in Vienna, and the Bowery Wall in New York City.
ABOUT AMY JONES:
Amy Jones is an American-born, French-naturalised painter and illustrator. Based in Paris for over 10 years, she does her best to share as much positivity, fun and colour as possible through her creations.
Since 2015, she puts her creativity at the service of inspiring brands with her illustrations and custom lettering. Amy’s style is colourful and cheerful, and she uses hand-drawn lettering and shapes to share all kinds of messages for her clients as well as in her personal work.
Whether painted as a large-scale mural or penciled in her sketchbook, her lines are clean and efficient in order to send a direct message all while making it possible to simply enjoy the sweet and colourful design.
In the past 8 years, she has worked with both French and multi-national clients on projects ranging from packaging, product and textile design, murals, digital and print campaigns, creation and elaboration of DIY projects and in-person creative workshops and customisation events.
ABOUT KRISTIN TEXEIRA:
Kristin Texeira creates abstract paintings inspired by her interactions with people and places. Her use of colour is channelled from her sensitivity to memory, and she often creates “memory maps” that tell of a specific moment in time.
Texeira graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2010. As a New York resident, she has exhibited her work via Uprise Art in New York City, Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco, Brilliant Champions in Brooklyn NY, Studio Cromie in Grottaglie, Italy as well as other galleries across the USA and abroad.
She has been awarded residencies that include the Albers’ Foundation Artist Residency in County Cork, Ireland, the Google Artist in Residence Program in New York, The Varda Artist Residency in Sausalito, CA, The Jaunt, The Sam and Adele Golden Foundation Artist Residency in New York, and the Vermont Studio Center.
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