2020 Science Without Borders® Challenge: High School Finalists
Congratulations to the high school finalists in our 2020 Science Without Borders® Challenge!, The theme of this year’s student art contest was “Take Action: Conserve Coral Reefs.” These top-10 finalists were chosen based on how well the artwork exemplified this year’s theme, the quality of the artwork, and the creativity and originality of their artwork. We hope you will be as impressed with the submissions we received as we were.
“Hero and Villain” by Kelly Yan, Age 17, United States
Life is an experience of what is; art is an experience of what could be. Here is a “Coral Canal” cleaned by a nameless man on an aimless boat. Within an eco-scene as diverse as it is colorful, our focus is entrapped by a symbolically dull net of bottles, caps, plastics, and straws — which account for sixty to eighty percent of ocean trash. This painting’s fantasy, however, is an inverse of reality. In truth, three fourths of coral reefs are at risk — a third damaged beyond repair — threatened mostly by pollution, overfishing, and rising temperatures. Sensitive to their surrounding environment, coral reefs protect coasts from storms and play an essential role for at least twenty five percent of marine species. If given better chances to thrive, coral reefs can help us all survive in a world not as it is, but as it could be.
