No Time to Waste.
Eco-Art Competition 2021.

This is a piece I did a little while ago when I was overwhelmed at the rate at which our coral reefs are deteriorating as a result of human activity. Ocean acidification and coral bleaching not only have immense impacts on animals and the food chain but also literally drains the beauty and life out of these ecosystems. This piece alludes to two ways humans have interconnected themselves with coral reefs: our sole responsibility in the death of them and our connection/dependence on water ecosystems. As you can see in the painting, the grey dullness of the woman is infectious and spreading through the coral. Humans are the pollution and not only are they killing themselves, but they are also killing their surrounding environment, which again affects the human. Time is running out, and the plaguing destruction is consuming the coral, leaving only the colorful tips left. There is also the idea presented in the painting that this process could work in reverse; the coral could be revitalizing and in its healing process, give life and color back to the woman. We need to save our reefs and our environment if we want to continue enjoying this beautiful, wonderous planet. I hope my painting, visualizing our connection to reefs and nature, triggers an emotional response. I hope that people feel that sense of guilt and urgency that I do anytime I engage myself in the up-to-date facts of how fast we are ruining our earth. I want people to see themselves as part of nature despite the many degrees of separation we use to separate ourselves from it, and then realize we are just as much part of the solution as we are the problem.