Reflection

Reflection

What initially inspired my piece “Deep Blue Home”, was the rising issue of the increase in catastrophic natural disasters caused by hostile weather. With global warming getting worse and sea levels rising, I wondered what the future would look like to me and the generations after. Living in New Zealand, my community and I have personally been affected by these climate changes due to the heavy rainfall and floods via Cyclone Gabrielle earlier in 2023. My family’s home had been flooded alongside with water contamination of untreated wastewater and other toxins which caused illness and diseases. The heavy rain caused the river under my school bridge to rise significantly and the current became too dangerous to cross. Many students got injured trying to cross the bridge by slipping and got swept away by the current. School was shut down for a week as it was too dangerous for people to drive on the roads due to flooding. Instead of painting about negative emotions associated with such a difficult time, I chose to take on a lighter and slightly humorous tone by painting something completely unrealistic. With my love of summer, swimming in the ocean and fascination with marine life, I imagined how humans would have to adapt to their new habitat shared with marine animals living underwater. I also imagine that humans will grow adaptations that allow us to do respiration underwater just like marine animals but need snorkel gear to get use to the new habitat. One takeaway I hope viewers remember from my artwork is to show more appreciation to our world and actually take action. Such as walking or biking instead of driving to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, recycling old things by reusing and buying less things, and most importantly spreading awareness of this uprising issue because even if they are small actions, they contribute to a large impact!