Student creates rainbow artwork using sticky notes to remember lockdown
Fine art student Lachlan Hui has created a piece of artwork using sticky notes as a way for people to remember the UK COVID-19 lockdown.
By Amy Gill | Published on 5 July 2021
Categories: Current students; School of Art & Design;
The 22-year-old from Nottingham Trent University created it as part of the art and design Summer Show when graduating students put their works on public display.
Lachlan sent sticky notes to 30 friends by post during the toughest period of the UK restrictions and asked them to write in water-soluble markers what they felt about the lockdown.
“Many people wanted to express their wishes and worries, as well as political views,” said Lachlan, who is originally from Hong Kong.
“My idea was inspired by the Lennon walls in Hong Kong which came about spontaneously as part of the recent protests there.
“It struck a chord with people, and I was pleased to see so many people within the Chinese community in Nottingham respond to my request for their thoughts and feelings on the lockdown in the UK.”
Lachlan sent multi-coloured sticky notes to people with the intention of creating a rainbow effect, which he had envisioned as part of this final artwork.
Upon receiving all the sticky notes back from the participants, he arranged them in a decorative order and placed them on a large sheet of paper, which was soaked in water.
This allowed the colours of the markers and the sticky notes themselves to run, and in doing so they dyed the large sheet of paper and in doing so created his final artwork.
“I was very pleased with the end result,” said Lachlan. “It exceeded my expectations - it looks like a melted rainbow and I find it a bit mesmerising. People told me that they found it meaningful, as it reminds them of what happened in 2020.”
Lachlan’s work will feature in Nottingham Trent University’s art and design Summer Show, which will see graduating artists and designers displaying their work as part of an online public exhibition on wearecreativesntu.art.
Nastassja Simensky, lecturer in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, said: “Lachlan has sourced everyday materials and used them in a collaborative way to create a poignant artwork during lockdown.
“’Collective Lockdown thoughts (Rainbow) 2020’ bears an emotional significance to those took part in the creative process with him and reflects a historic moment that has affected millions of people around the world.”
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About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.
NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.
The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.
It is one of the largest UK universities. With over 37,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University injects £1.6bn into the UK economy. It has been the largest recruiter of UK undergraduates in each of the last four years. With an international student population of more than 6,000 and an NTU community representing around 160 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.
The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.