2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge Finalists: 11-14 year old students
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is thrilled to announce the finalists in our 2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge! This international contest engages students in important ocean issues through art. This year we asked students to create a piece of art that illustrates one or more actions that governments, non-profits, park managers, and indigenous communities can take to preserve coral reefs using a ridge-to-reef approach to conservation.
We hope you will be as impressed with the submissions we received as we were. Entries to the Science Without Borders® Challenge are judged in two categories based on age. Here are the finalists selected from the younger group of applicants, students 11-14 years old:
"The Breakable Shell" by Ji Yoon Park, Age 12, Republic of Korea
ARTIST'S STATEMENT: My artwork is representing the future where efforts will be made to help protect coral reefs. I found out that ocean acidification is caused by pollution and global warming. During the process, CO2 is mixed with water to make carbonic acid, preventing coral from regenerating its skeleton, resulting in bleached coral. To portray that, I made the negative actions dull, while I made the beneficial and helpful actions colorful. I drew a glass dome over the coral reef almost like a second shell that is protecting it from the negative things. I depicted the coral as hands because they have the purpose of protecting coastlines from erosion and storms. The hands symbolize control but also the urgent need for help. Furthermore, instead of simply cleaning coastlines, I used fisherman and scuba divers to show how we can help. I’m showing that our actions from land shouldn’t negatively affect coral reefs.
