Have you heard of the Big White Wall project along Central Saint Martins’ Granary Square Street? Working with Liquitex and Cass Art, CSM have launched an opportunity for students to create temporary large scale artworks for passers-by to admire.  Sponsoring this project for a second year, Liquitex supplied all the required paint, gesso and brushes. Fine Art Collective UK Manager Stephanie Nebbia provided guidance throughout and Student Matthew Wang has been selected as this year’s winner.

Matthew's Big White Wall submission went beyond the decorative; it stood out from the crowd with its combination of conceptual ideas and aesthetic appeal.

Big White Wall winner: Matthew Wang

We caught up with judges David Mach and Charlotte Schepke as they mulled over the six remaining shortlisted entries. "The last six should all be congratulated – they've all done amazingly," says David, a self-confessed "materials junkie". Mach studied at Duncan of Jordanstone before attending the Royal College of Art and is a Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts.  He’s just received a huge delivery of trees and will be trying out wood-carving for the first time. Well-known for his iconic sculptures, David’s installations can be found across London and the rest of the world.

Why was Matthew chosen as the winner? He had already mapped out how he would go about creating this large-scale mural and foreseen the challenges that lay ahead. His vision was unique yet achievable in the time frame; the design fits with Liquitex products and includes thoughtful use of mixed colour. Then there's the deeper meaning, expected to engage students as they walk by.

Liquitex paint will cover the huge 7 x 30m wall!

We chatted with Matthew as he visited the UK Liquitex headquarters to trial different tools and forms of acrylic, including rollers, brushes, soft body, heavy body, spray paint and tape. Stephanie ran through the different options available and benefits of each – rollers should be used for flat finishes and Freestyle Brushes for clean corners and edges.

 Sitting at a table with a range of tubs and tubes in front of him, Matthew told us of how happy he felt at being chosen, and how winning has given him more confidence in his concept. 

 Matthew says each section is linked to a Google search of a country, and measures 4m x 7m ­– the same dimensions as an iPhone screen. “Each individual colour is a pre-loaded image of that country’s Google search.” There are seven sections, six of which are countries, while the central doorway area represents Google’s corporate colours. With the internet acting as the gateway to so much information and Google being central to this project, it brings another meaningful element. 

A constant flow of students will view the large-scale artwork

 If you read from left to right, you can imagine a world map starting with the USA, and then travelling onto the United Kingdom, then France, Syria, Saudi Arabia and finally to China. Matthew explains, “In most senses, the conceded colours were already decided by the Google search - my objective wasn’t to invent or change the colours, it was to re-represent and curate them on a different scale, medium, and arrangement.” Matthew has decided to base the featured countries on current topics important in today's context.

Matthew is now halfway through his project. We'll be following him as he continues to work his way across the Big White Wall using Liquitex, so keep an eye out for updates on his progress!