Art

Marigold

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This is my version of Michelle Yeoh winning an Oscar at this year’s award ceremony. Her message of hope was inspiring. I added in some celebratory aspects, and animated the image a bit, but wanted to express absolute joy and excitement through features in my art. Out of the 95 years the Oscar award show has been running, Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian woman to win the lead actress role–which has only been this year. During her acceptance speech, Michelle Yeoh was vocal and proud of being Asian, spreading more positivity about representation for people that “look like” her, inspiring others to work hard and not give up on dreams.

Worms

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This digital art piece is meant to represent the racism I experienced as a child at school, especially during lunch, when I would bring my mom’s homemade food to school. I loved my culture, and I loved the food my mom would make me. But the other kids weren’t familiar with my culture, and they would make insensitive remarks about my food that would make me feel embarrassed to have brought it. Once, someone told me the chả lụa I brought smelled like stinky cheese. I stopped bringing the delicious meals my mom would make, all because the other kids would make these remarks. I don’t think it was the kids’ fault for being that way. They were just never taught that there were other people out there, with different cultures, foods, and traditions, and I want to raise awareness around how important it is that parents properly teach their children these things. If we want to stop racism, we should start with educating our kids better.

Breakout

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For this project, I used acrylic paint and water to paint a recently hatched butterfly and its chrysalis. The butterfly has a rainbow pattern to represent the rainbow LGBTQ flag. The chrysalis represents the proverbial and literal closets that so many LGBTQ people are forced to hide in. Butterflies represent hope, so this project represents my hope that LGBTQ people will be able to come out of the closet and be accepted in the future.

Reusable Bags

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After reflecting upon actions that can be made by young people to better the environment, I thought that reusable bags would be a unique concept to highlight. In this day and age, there is so much plastic everywhere and for the most part, plastic bags are an example of this. I feel that instead of getting plastic bags from your grocery store every single time you go, instead, we should all use reusable bags to help reduce plastic waste. I wanted to emphasize this in my painting by showing a reusable bag being used rather than a plastic bag. This change is a small leap that will create a big change for the environment.

You Can Help Monarchs Too

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I made my poster to share how we can help monarch butterflies and why helping them is important. They are a part of the planet and environment, so they should also be helped through Earth day. My poster included giving away seeds for people at my school to plant to support the butterflies. I made the poster to show how everyone can help the monarchs!

Corroding Coral

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To the viewers of my artwork, I’d like for everyone to take a first glance, and see a coral reef. Then, I want the viewers to look closer, and see that there’s cardboard and paper and plastic integrated into the painting. This piece was designed to draw attention to the fact that garbage does not belong in the oceans, and even if you don’t see it at first, it is there. My goal is for viewers to enjoy my piece as an aesthetic, but to also gain a new awareness of the sheer amount of trash in our oceans. We must hold ourselves and everyone around us accountable for ocean pollution, because regardless of our age, we are the only ones with the power to stop it.

Isolation

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I chose this category because I am a shy person so painting is an easier way for me to communicate and painting helps me in expressing my emotions more.

Strings Attached

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My artwork, “Strings Attached” regards the strings that come with being in an environment with drug abuse. Often, high schoolers face peer pressure. They face manipulation and gaslighting that leads them to drug use. My artwork symbolizes the manipulation that is often behind the abuse of drugs and the effects that come with it.

Opioids Use Directing Change Digital Art

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My art piece represents the reality of how easily opioids can be disguised as pills letting viewers know how it’s easier to hide dangerous substances within something that seems harmless. However, now pills have become more and more common to become a way for teens to get high, but little do teens know it is dangerous to take medication from a non-medical professional. Which leads to many overdosing or trying to harm themselves to escape from their problems. It is not worth it. The duct tape represents the prevention which is to not consume anything that hasn’t been handled in a safe manner or prescribed by a medical professional. The purpose of this art piece is to give a visual representation of how opioids can fit into a normal scene, and the prevention is to not consume the pill.