Reflection

When I was young, I spent numerous hours during the weekends with my brother building our own tree house on an old oak tree in my yard. It eventually became my escape from the bustling streets and busy school life, by finding peace in our cozy hideout. It was my first time recognizing how nature can provide a safe space for me to be mindful and relax. This experience inspired me to think about looking into nature where I discover peace. But when I began to look beyond the context of nature by walking around my compound, I noticed the rapid industrialization and biodiversity loss that is disrupting our environment. This artwork “Growth Beyond Green,” mainly revolves around the elements of metros, skyscrapers, and a tree. The sprouts and stems emerging out of the tree symbolizes green energy and resilience, while the urban skyscrapers and metros reflects the negative effects of human intervention and rapid industrialization in our ecosystem. I used the medium of micron pens, because it illustrates the complexities of our world and the aftermath of the imbalance with nature and urbanization with the colors black and white to foreshadow the outcome in the future where nature is replaced by concrete or steel. Creativity allows me to explore my own role as a teenager in this world by expressing the issue of humans dominating industrialization, without realizing nature is decaying due to the lack of harmony between our ecosystem and urban expansion. Therefore, my message is to hope the audience will not only look into nature but at the same time look outside to recognize that nature and urbanization should coexist together in the Concrete Jungle.