Reflection

Working on this piece helped me feel, more than ever, the meaning behind “Healthy Environments, Healthy Humans.” Upon seeing this theme, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother: she used to tell me all these stories about the 阴阳五行, Yin-Yang and the five elements (wood, water, metal, earth, and fire) —and how, in Chinese culture, we believe they help make sense of the world: from personality traits to the luck of a day, to the structure of the universe. To her, these weren’t just symbols—they were part of us. They became the heart of my work. I wanted to express the profound connection between humans and nature: when the environments thrive, we thrive. Our well-being is inseparable from the nature surrounding us. Each of the four color-panels in my drawing highlights this connection: the forest’s fresh air cleans our lungs and its branches cradle animals (wood); soil feeds the roots, and plants feed us humans in return, like energy flowing from the ground into our bodies (earth); water nourishes all growth and flows through all stages of life (water); and the ocean—with all its life, its ebbs and flows-embraces us, shifting yet enduring, malleable in form yet unwavering in spirit (metal). I used acrylic markers on three stacked, transparent panels. Bright colors bring energy, while the layered translucency allows humans, animals, plants to blend and interact—just as they do in nature, which is full of quiet connections we don’t constantly notice. This process reminded me that, in an era obsessed with “being strong and independent,” we are, at our core, interdependent: never separate from one another. Like the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, we are nature, and nature is us. When we care for the earth, we’re really caring for ourselves.