Wall-to-Wall Entertainment

The Feature Wall at the new CLP
E-Playground in suburban Hong Kong provides a colourful and fascinating overview of the company’s past and future. In this second article on the project, we take a peek at the artistic concept and illustrators
behind the wall.

Wall-to-Wall Entertainment

 

The CLP E-Playground is a fun and inspiring education platform for young people and members of the public to learn about energy, engineering, and environmental conservation. One of its most prominent installations among a number of interactive games and facilities is the Feature Wall.

 

Packed with stimulating designs and graphics in bright and vibrant colours to project a positive and energetic image to visitors, the 12-metre-long Feature Wall colourfully illustrates CLP’s vital role in the economic and social development of Hong Kong spanning more than a century.

Animal magnetism

The lively cartoon characters on the wall include a lion which represents the Lion Rock spirit of the city, according to Bao Ho, the Hong Kong-based muralist who created the work.

 

“I believe the cartoon essentially captures the Lion Rock spirit and resilience of both Hong Kong and CLP,” says Ho, a talented self-taught artist who started her career in 2015 and has a distinctive style in transforming monochromic art and busy patterns into art pieces. 

 

The wall also has a series of images connected to the energy industry, including power plants, transmission lines, and towers – pillars of CLP’s business that enable it to be a reliable electricity supplier for Hong Kong. 

 

The wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles on the wall, meanwhile, emphasise the company’s commitment to promoting renewable energy. Through these images, visitors can learn more about CLP’s climate vision and the pathway towards a more sustainable energy future. Ho says that by visualising CLP’s messages of sustainability, she got to understand more about the importance of electricity and energy conservation.

The Feature Wall
The lion cartoon represents the Lion Rock spirit and the resilience of Hong Kong and CLP.
Quince Chong and Bao Ho
CLP Chief Corporate Development Officer Quince Chong (middle) joins Hong Kong-based muralist Bao Ho (right) and the students to paint the Feature Wall.

Nature calls

The mural cleverly intertwines technology with nature by including mountains and the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree as a nod to the location of the playground. “The E-playground enjoys a geographical advantage with its setting in a suburban area,” Ho explains. “The tranquillity of the surrounding environment and the clear blue sky echo the theme of the Feature Wall, allowing visitors to escape from the densely packed city.”

 

Ho came up with the design concept for the Feature Wall by painting with a group of students, who are part of the CLP E-Playground Work Team organised through the CLP Engineer in School programme. In 2018, the programme invited 29 students from six schools to join the work team to contribute their insights through a series of brainstorming workshops.

 

Four students from Ying Wah Girls’ School were chosen from the work team to paint the Feature Wall, while the Hong Kong Award for Young People nominated another four tertiary students to join in the creative effort. It took them around 10 days from start to finish to complete the mural.

Students painting the Feature Wall
Students paint the Feature Wall based on sketches by the muralist.

Family fun

“I love this painting very much because it combines the story of CLP with cute and interesting illustrations,” says Ying Wah Girls’ School Form 6 Student Janice Poon. “My friends and I will definitely invite our family members to pay a visit.”

 

The Feature Wall includes a number of games to enrich visitors’ experience, including one based on the famous cartoon “Where’s Wally?” in which guests are challenged to find Wally among a large huddle of cartoon characters. 

 

Drawings of CLP engineers and logos have been tucked away in the design and visitors are challenged to count the images, with gifts available to those who correctly identify them all.

 

With its artful combination of games, fun characters, and imaginative challenges, the Feature Wall is part of a holistic experience in interactive learning at the E-Playground for visitors of all ages and backgrounds.