Reflection

Through this piece, I wished to convey the way that climate change is intrinsically tied to social inequality, both globally and within nations. In the top half of the painting, the bright poppy colors, the sensual pose of the woman relaxing in the bathtub, the surreal situations of the overflowing water and the blown up diver suspended mid-air create a feeling of dreamlike ease, showing the ignorance and indifference in which the affluent live, shielded from the worst effects of global warming by their social privilege. The wealthy and even ordinary people in well-off countries add to global warming everyday simply going about their ordinary lives, mindlessly using fossil fuels and supporting harmful agricultural practices. Those who bear the brunt of the consequences are the poor and disadvantaged, who lack the abilities to migrate out of areas with severe climates or successfully fortify for or recover from natural disasters worsened by climate change. These people are represented in the painting by the women carrying water through a landscape shattered by blistering drought and the community victimized by flood. The beautiful colors of the rising waters behind them stand in contrast from the growing danger they hold, and the fish look cheerful in yellows and pinks even as they flee disaster, conveying the comfort of delusions for those who ignore climate change to chase money or power. Behind the water, an underground city looms, prophesying a disastrous future should things not change.