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LUMEN | LETTING HOPE TAKE FLIGHT
Letting Hope take Flight Through Noah ’ s Jonah
By Michael Ee
Noah ’ s Jonah is the latest service art project on display in the area outside our bookshop .
Across many civilisations , there is a familiar story that tells of a great flood created by the gods to cleanse humanity of their misdeeds and malevolent behaviours . Even in today ’ s secular world , such salvation stories could be interpreted as past catastrophic events that were the result of both human activity and naturally occurring cyclical patterns . Regardless of one ’ s beliefs , the symbol of hope that emerges from these stories is one which has endured throughout time - the dove , a sign of peace , after a seemingly tumultuous period in the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark .
Noah ’ s Jonah (‘ Jonah ’ means dove in Hebrew ) is a service project spearheaded by this year ’ s Visual Arts CAS ( VAC ) to spread awareness on the importance of hope . As we continue to battle with the ebb and flow of the COVID-19 pandemic , other more troubling crises have emerged , surely as a result of growing divisive and protectionist sentiments . The Ukrainian-Russian war , the conflict in Myanmar and the geopolitical tensions between China and USA have resulted in waves of uncertainty for global relations .
Led by the VAC EXCO member Audrey Yeo ( ML512 ) and Vice-President Daniel Koh ( ML513 ), the project saw several Year 5 members conceptualise an educational art activity to engage the Primary 5 boys from the four Lasallian primary schools . The boys were each given two sheets of origami paper and were guided by Year 2 and 3 student leaders to fold peace
Year 5 VAC students preparing materials for the workshop .