By: Joelle C. Warsono
Mentor: Wisnu Auri
Media: Acrylic Paint on Wall
Execution Date: 15-16 December 2018

The concept is based on the Japanese quote ‘Fall down seven times, get up eight’.

Essentially, every rise to the top is built by the many failures. Behind every successful rise to the top is never a shortcut; simply grit, determination, and endurance.

In this process, people who strive and are gritty enough to persevere through setbacks during trials eventually learn from experience.

The characteristic that this quote mainly conveys is having persistent resilience. It is a message that must be enforced to youth while they are still in their prime years of learning, growing and experiencing ups and downs.

The mural depicts seven figures of the same child falling down around in different positions, crowding around the eight child in the middle.

Although still on the ground and unsteady, each fallen child gradually is able to stand a little taller than what they were previously. Hence the progression from totally on the ground to almost standing tall.

The eight child is the victorious child, raising a fire lit torch in a gesture of triumph. The child’s failures gather around the risen figure as if the winning child is a bonfire, a bright flame that indicates hope, goodness and victory.

Although the eight child shines the brightest, her seven failures are still in the picture. Although shadowed, they are not forgotten; it is the message that our failures are what makes us who and what we are today. They must not be hidden and they must not go uncredited. Before a rise, there is always a fall. Without having times of failure, we will never learn to succeed.