Building 100 Years of Wonder! Artist Lakwena Maciver Unveils Giant LEGO | Disney Mural in London
By Staff Reports
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.