Don’t Touch The Lava

‘Don’t Touch The Lava’ is the name of a game many children in my generation played as well as the title of the third drawing in the Playgrounds series. The premise is very straightforward: you pretend that the ground is covered in lava and must cross one side of the playground to the other using only surfaces that are just above level. It was a very fun way to test our climbing skills, dexterity and even creative problem-solving. In this case, though, the lava is not quite pretend and the children find themselves in a predicament much more perilous than a simple climbing game.

Full disclosure: the composition was inspired by Khatib Adventure HQ, the first and largest multi-installation indoor playground in Singapore which looms four storeys high and features 14m slides, caves and obstacle courses. Never stepped inside, though.

From the series Proposal for Playgrounds

Who you hang out with, the games you play, how you behave, who you ignore or listen to - these are all rules you’ve likely first learned at the playground. These drawings pay tribute to the simple childhood joy of playing, yet acknowledges that as we do so innocently, we are also beginning to grasp complicated concepts that will only grow more pronounced over time, including but not limited to: belonging, exclusion, territorialisation, survival, danger, problem-solving, friendship and rivalry. These musings and reflection on early memories serve as the foundation of my new series Proposals for Playgrounds, where childhood behaviour and dynamics are exemplified by the very intentional design of fantastical playgrounds, or rather, environs.