Reflection

Upon moving to Arizona from Minnesota years ago, I have witnessed firsthand the effects that climate change has wrought upon my home. The infamously scorching desert heat has only been getting hotter. The already crucial water reserves have only been depleting faster. More species have migrated or disappeared from previously biodiverse environments. The effects of increasing global temperatures caused by climate change on Arizona are clear and continue to harm humans and wildlife alike. These clear signs inspired my creative process to make a digital painting that encapsulated my personal experience with climate change in Arizona. In my painting, titled “Scorched,” I symbolized the personal experience of a hot summer night, exacerbated by global warming. In this painting, I also symbolized the loss of biodiversity in Arizona’s ecosystems through the burning and scattering butterflies, representing the loss of natural beauty in the landscape. Furthermore, the burning butterflies represent the increasing rate of extinction for many species that rely on the night as their only respite from the heat. In addition, the abstract construction of the butterflies as a part of the subject’s head symbolizes the interconnectedness of humans with their environments’ fellow species. Climate change has proved that humans are inseparable from the world they inhabit, and as biodiversity decreases due to global warming, it is humans who must shoulder the responsibility of preventing these disastrous effects. The message of the artwork is to encourage people to collectively prevent habitat destruction through measures such as water conservation and reducing their carbon footprints, in order to prevent harm to humans and other beloved species alike.