Reflection

This piece centers on the feeling that growing up often means drifting further away from the wonder and appreciation for mother nature we once embraced as children. I wanted to capture that emotional distance that comes with age and the overwhelming pace of urban life. In this artwork, The mirror is a powerful symbol as it reflects a moment of pause, a window into nostalgia. It represents a glimpse into a version of myself still deeply connected to nature and freedom. I wanted to portray that the child isn't gone, just hidden behind layers of responsibility and noise. Being creative gives me an imaginative space to explore these emotional reflections at my own pace to slow down and to express what I can’t always say out loud. For this piece, I chose acrylic for its ability to create depth and contrast to paint the blurred cityscape with a heavy atmosphere while rendering the reflected memory with a sense of warmth and light. Through this contest’s theme, I came to realize how nature is not just something around us, but it is something within us that needs to be discovered. My message imbued in this piece is when we lose touch with it, we also lose touch with ourselves. Painting this work helped me understand that reconnecting with nature is about returning to a more open part of who we are.