Renowned artist James Wong was invited to return to TIS for a second year as Artist-in-Residence to help our students explore the creativity part of the local CAS (Creativity, Activity & Service) option of High School Experience Week. Born and raised in Macau, James studied design and fine arts in Hong Kong and later in Tokyo.  He is well known for his abstract paintings and printmaking, he is also a sculptor and his works have been exhibited in cities around the world.  In 2016, he was chosen to represent the region to showcase his works alongside other international artists at the 57th edition of the Venice Art Biennale. He is currently the president of the Printmaking Research Center of Macau and the curator of the Macau Printmaking Triennial. In addition to creating artworks for his collections, James also runs art therapy programs for children and adults.

Last year, James taught our students how to create 3-D paper mache models of elephant heads which are now displayed in the main stairwell on the fifth floor.  This year, the challenge was to create two larger than life tigers. One of the tigers measures 2.3 metres from head to tail.  The frameworks for the tigers were constructed from cardboard cut-outs, which were designed and cut out by James and his assistant Ernest using a computer program.  We asked James if they faced any difficulties in the project, he said the most difficult part was deciding on poses to show off the majestic features of the big cats. James praised our students on their enthusiasm and diligence on following instructions, which made his job easy. The students constructed the skeleton by piecing together the numbered cardboard cut-outs.   Despite a tight timetable, the amazing teamwork meant the cardboard tigers began to take shape by day three, and by the end of day four the sculptures were covered in a special plaster that will withstand the Macau humidity and ready for painting to bring the tigers to life!

Thanks to James and Ernest, and our team of students, these unique mascot sculptors will soon be out on display representing our tiger pride.