2023 Science Without Borders® Challenge Finalists: 15-19 year old students
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is delighted to announce the finalists in our 2023 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 highlights the beauty and importance of a marine species that is on the brink of extinction.
This year we received more entries than ever before. Over 1,200 entries flooded in from 67 different countries, and let us tell you, it was no easy feat to choose the finalists. 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 older group of applicants, students 15-19 years old:
"Keystone of the Deep" by Xinyan Meng, Age 17, China
ARTIST’S STATEMENT: This artwork expresses the magnificence of blue whale and its vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of our ecosystem. The city supported by the blue whale represents the contribution of blue whales to the water ecosystem by providing food for microorganisms and plankton, thereby ensuring a healthy food chain. Blue whale's ability to transport carbon dioxide to the seabed after death and prevent buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is depicted through the clear and azure environment surrounding the underwater city. Divers casting a seine on the blue whale from beneath symbolize continued illegal whaling, vessel strikes, and entanglement in fishing gear’s negative impact on the blue whale population, which caused the city to incline. The collapsing and submerging houses and tempestuous waves surrounding the ramshackle city implies the subsequent detrimental impact on the ocean ecosystem, conveying need for strengthened preservation acts to maintain the beautiful whale-supported ecosystem.
