Reflection

Reflection

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. Water is the essence of life on Earth. British poet W. H. Auden once noted, “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” Yet while we all know water is crucial for life, we trash it anyway. A large percentage of the world’s wastewater is dumped—largely untreated—back into the environment, polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans. This widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing our health and the entire biosphere that holds life. Unsafe water kills more people each year than war and all other forms of violence combined. I have tried to illustrate how we are contaminating water, damaging our ecosystems, and impacting all life on earth. The tap symbolizes the toxicity that humankind brings to our planet, poisoning our water, killing life nonchalantly. The most vulnerable among us are the first to die, but eventually this venom will circle back, overwhelm, and kill us all. We have the power to shut off the tap, stop the abuse and re-energize the world with pure, clean water, if we bring our minds to it. Access to clean water is not a problem far away, it is in our face. And before we know it, the resources that we supposedly ‘tap’ into, will turn into our biggest nightmares. In my artwork, I have portrayed an underwater scene and tried to depict how water contamination is killing our aquatic life. I hope to inspire others to think of water as a finite, critical resource to all forms of life. My personal commitment to combat water contamination continues to flow strong.