Art Works

This piece symbolizes the devastating effects of coral bleaching I learned in my freshman Earth Science class, where rising ocean temperatures cause corals to expel their algae, leaving them white and disrupting marine ecosystems. Fascinators, with their intricate and eye-catching beauty, seemed like the perfect medium to show the vibrance of coral reefs. By physically wearing a coral reef scene, I wanted to emphasize that humans and Earth are one—we are part of nature. After painting the design, I sprayed it almost entirely white to reflect the sharp contrast of coral reefs losing their color. I left a small part of the reef in color to symbolize the remaining hope. But we shouldn’t use that hope as an excuse to assume these environmental conditions will improve on their own and remain bystanders. Instead, we must use it to believe that change is possible once we take action.  

This piece explores the dangerous impacts of social media addiction and unattainable beauty standards especially to young girls. Much like gambling addiction, many people are addicted to Instagram, seeing images of unattainable beauty standards on their phones, driving them to undergo cosmetic surgery. However, this gamble is unwinnable; no matter how much surgery one gets—whether it's for plump lips, a button nose, or doe eyes—it will never be perfect enough to bring full satisfaction. Lastly, the numbers in the background represent the increasing number of cosmetic procedures performed on teenagers each year based on data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, highlighting the growing trend of underage plastic surgery.

Nature's Pages

A Rhythmic Environment