9th Contest (2018)

The blue ocean with a range of beautiful green islands. There are beautiful birds, fish and animals on the road, full of life. It shouldn’t be just adults involved in ecological activities for this beautiful earth. We as children would like to work hard on these activities, too. Let’s hope that the future will mean an earth with a beautiful blue ocean.

This image illustrates the regional character well and the local culture from a child’s perspective. A sprawling landscape resembling Japan occupies the center, surrounded by the sea with a road in the middle. Perhaps the road means time. The greenery that stretches to the top and the large animals show the child’s innocent and caring feeling for nature. The painting was carefully created with pure childlike inspirations and a rich sense of color, vibrantly displaying daily living that is one with nature.

I live in a small beautiful town called Podolsk. In the spring, nightingales used to nest and sing near my house. But these days, asphalt plants foul the air. Nightingales stopped flying in. Adults fight for clean air in our town. In my picture, I wanted to say that the Earth is our home and it needs to be cared for. I want to preserve it for everybody with clean air, pure rivers and singing birds. I want all people of the Earth to care for each other and be happy!

The color usage has a Russian touch. The composition is simple, with red and blue being key colors to keep the overall impression compact. People in natural wool clothes are purifying emissions and waste water from the plant. I felt the message, “We can purify nature using the same materials as what we wear. So, caring for the environment is the same as caring for oneself.”

The concept that I put forth in my painting illustrates the situation in Indonesia, which has recently experienced natural disasters caused by the impact of deforested lands. I want green Indonesia to return to its nickname as an agricultural country. In the painting there are several stages, the first step is to process the soil and plant the tree seeds well and in the second stage shows that the community is happy and more diligently watering the plants. The third and fourth stages are the last stages where people are happy because the trees have grown well. Then the community held a celebration with reog art to entertain the surrounding community to increase enthusiasm and gratitude to God.

The composition is simple, but if you look closely, there are meticulously painted people ploughing the soil. It clearly shows the cycle where everyone fertilizes the soil, sows plants and gradually turns the land green. If you concentrate, you will see a temple and a church in the background. Perhaps the child is concerned about the current conflict between religions? The painting expresses the importance of a community working together and people living together in town. Also eye-catching is the use of colors, such as the ultramarine patches in the black.

A lot of mountain fires have been happening due to climate change and careless from human activities. This leads to serious damage to forest and homes of different animals.
I have a dream; we join together, ride on Bird of peace and fly to different places to sow the magical seeds, restoring the beauty of original forest in our earth.
So, all human beings and different kinds of animals can live healthily and happily in a green and cosy environment.

A straight-forward piece of work full of childlike qualities, communicating the pain the child feels about the wildfires, desperately thinking something has to be done to restore nature with magic seeds. The two-plane composition is quite bold. Children are seen on the back of a dove, obviously a symbol of peace, as well as rich greenery on the right, together with blossoming buds and flowers. The yellow sun is very cleverly positioned. The colors are beautiful. It reveals a child of a sensitive mind and unlimited imagination.

Recycling plastic feels fantastic. That’s the need of the hour.
We all along with our posterity deserve to share the cleaner air. So, let’s spill the beans.
Let’s have a cleaner planet in order to have an exceptional ethos around us.

Every year I see plenty of entries featuring the Earth. Many children who painted the Earth remember it as an important theme, and this is something I would like to bear that in mind when looking at the entries. In this painting, everyone is cleaning the Earth together. Right now, there is scaffolding around it, but one day when the Earth is clean the sheets will be removed. I appreciated this entry because it conveys a strong message to get involved with changing the environment, whereas many other entries simply feature the Earth to express eco-friendliness.

My city is very small, but it’s very beautiful. There are so many nice places as mountains, river, forest and so on that I love them. In fact, my paint is an image of my friends and me in side of river. I love there. I would like all of this beautiful places remain for a long time for my kids in the future. Therefore I think it’s our duty to protect our environment.

The girls are looking relaxed, soaking their feet in the water. All three of them look very happy and calm. Instead of yelling about the environment or proposing solutions, this painting illustrates that “What we are aiming for is in our daily lives.” The painting conveys the joy of living in harmony with nature. Through this artwork, we can feel a happiness and regionality that is slightly different from those we are familiar with.

I drew a picture of boxes piled on top of each other, while someone is pulling the boxes in the bottom row, causing the entire pile to collapse. The box in the top row (row 5) represents Earth, row 4 represents humans, row 3 represents wildlife, row 2 represents water, and the bottom row represents trees. I want to express that if we pull the boxes in the bottom row, all the other rows will collapse. The meaning is that if we destroy forests by cutting trees, it will affect every living thing on Earth.

At first glance this piece looks simple. Yet there is more depth than first meets the eye, as you first see supporting hands but realize they may actually be taking away what they are grabbing. The units are wanting to be together but if they are misaligned or stacked incorrectly, they will collapse. This is probably how the child assesses and sees the environment. It is almost like a well-considered educational toy. This instability is a very apt expression of the world we live in. The painting communicates both anxiety and hope.

From now on, let’s do eco-friendly activities together.
At present, our Earth is threatened by various forms of pollution such as air pollution from vehicle emissions and factory fumes. In addition, there is also water pollution caused by garbage and sewage... There are also droughts, forest burning for clearing new land, and illegal logging which without doubt disrupts and damages the habitats of forest wildlife. Therefore, we must begin to participate in overcoming global warming. One method is to plant trees, dispose of garbage in the right place and turn non-biodegradable waste into something useful. We can start campaigning for the use of renewable energy, alternative technology, and love the environment. All we do is for a future that is better, greener, cooler and more comfortable for all living things on the Earth.

Many entries compare reality with future, but this one is different. It talks about the harsh reality but is also appealing that we should do what we can now. The world of hope, reflected in the water, elaborately expresses that picking up garbage will make the world a better place. In Western mythology, looking at the reflection of oneself in a mirror or water could mean self-discovery or understanding oneself. This entry also shows two different faces of the girl, one of her in real life and another in the reflection. It is probably depicting the importance of understanding oneself.

The rapid increase in global litter that enters the marine environment every year poses a serious threat to the beautiful marine environment as well as the marine life that depends on it. My dream is to become a scientist and invent a litter disposal station like this. It swims like a real whale in the ocean, actively searches for marine litter, swallows it like food and processes it immediately. In this way, it gradually converts marine litter into fuel for itself as well as recyclable resources.

Although it is difficult to discern the details from a distance, the composition is so rich that even without seeing the detail, the painting’s message is clear. The whale in the ocean is swallowing all kinds of meticulously painted garbage. This whale is a robot called Eco 8, conveying an incredible optimism that technology will be the answer to everything. The crabs and fish also look unique and interesting.