Proposals for Playgrounds
Who you hang out with, the games you play, how you behave, who you ignore or listen to - these are all rules you’ve likely first learned at the playground. These drawings pay tribute to the simple childhood joy of playing, yet acknowledges that as we do so innocently, we are also beginning to grasp complicated concepts that will only grow more pronounced over time, including but not limited to: belonging, exclusion, territorialisation, survival, danger, problem-solving, friendship and rivalry. These musings and reflection on early memories serve as the foundation of my series Proposals for Playgrounds, where childhood behaviour and dynamics are exemplified by the very intentional design of fantastical playgrounds, or rather, environs.
Don’t Touch The Lava
‘Don’t Touch The Lava’ is the name of a game many children in my generation played as well as the title of the third drawing in the Playgrounds series. The premise is very straightforward: you pretend that the ground is covered in lava and must cross one side of the playground to the other using only surfaces that are just above level. It was a very fun way to test our climbing skills, dexterity and even creative problem-solving. In this case, though, the lava is not quite pretend and the children find themselves in a predicament much more perilous than a simple climbing game.
Full disclosure: the composition was inspired by Khatib Adventure HQ, the first and largest multi-installation indoor playground in Singapore which looms four storeys high and features 14m slides, caves and obstacle courses. Never stepped inside, though.
You Do Not Belong Here
The twisting orange trees of You Do Not Belong Here are inspired by the organic forms and structures of real-life modern playground designs as the industry continues to draw inspiration from nature. The glass pods attached to some of the branches are immediately overtaken by groups that are fortunate enough to form friendships and alliances quickly, leaving stragglers to brave the “outside world” made unpleasant and even hostile by the grotesque, swooping heads of playground monitors that do not always have the children’s best interest at heart. This may or may not be based on my reality in the third grade.
Danger Zone
Nets are commonly seen in playgrounds. Both barrier and passageway, link and obstruction, and a surface to climb and cross, they present many possibilities for play while keeping children safe. In different contexts though, nets trap, ensnare and enclose. Yet when enclosing, their gaping holes still leave the children exposed and vulnerable to harm. In Danger Zone, hostile entities run rampant on the ground and attempt to thwart the children’s progress as they thrust their strange weapons through the mesh, pointing out its failure as a protective barrier even as it is also the children’s only hope of crossing to safety.
