Eco-Art Competition 2022

(I would like to apologize for the possible grammatical errors. English isn’t my first language.) I may have interpreted the theme a little differently, but I hope it’ll be understandable. The environmental element displayed in my artwork is animal protection, which is really important to me. There are plenty of incredible species of animals disappearing off the face of the earth daily, due to the polluting lifestyle of humanity. This isn’t only a problem because I feel sorry for the innocent animals, but because if the situation doesn’t change, the next extinct species will be humans. My oil-painting shows a child picking up snails from the side of the road, and putting them in the protection of the bush. I remember doing this many times as a child, just sitting there making sure the snails were safe. I think every child is born with a seed already planted in them. A seed, which makes them empathize with every other living thing. That’s why children want to take every stray dog in and help all homeless people, even though they have no money. But this little seed can’t grow for long, because society plants another seed in every human, the seed that makes us prioritize things like money, control and power. What makes everyone forget about the stray animals and the homeless people. And this seed grows as we grow older and slowly smothers the seed of empathy. (The boot-sole and the crushed snail symbolizes this.) I hope, that when someone sees my painting, they will remember a childhood memory, when only the first seed existed, and that seed will finally have a moment of air. And so I plant a seed that’ll help the other one grow. If this message reaches even one person then I’m happy I painted it.