This plastic softdrinks bag and cigarette piece won a climate art contest
Different Filipino artists produce art for different reasons — some use to highlight a political stance, while others want to share their creative niche. But visual artist Bricx Martillo Dumas a.k.a. ShrimpPaste created an environment-related piece, which landed him first place in a global competition called DigitalArt4Climate.
Dumas’ winning piece entitled Nexus was announced through the competition’s official Instagram page on Sunday, November 14. It showed a hand holding two things: a transparent plastic showing and a blue-colored drink and a straw inside of it. This usually holds soft drinks when bought in the Philippines. The container resembles the shape of a fish, which signifies damage caused by the material.
Another item in the hand was a lit cigarette. While the stick usually releases smoke, the drawing shows that it was emitting leaves. Dumas explained in a video statement that his piece was a “visual representation of how our simple everyday lifestyle affects our environment, ecosystem, and how we struggle to live.”
In the video, the Leyte-born artist also shared a personal experience, ‘Eight years ago, my hometown suffered the wrath of [Super] Typhoon Haiyan. It changed my life forever. Should we wait for another typhoon as strong as Haiyan just to realize that this world is suffering from mass extinction? Or should we be the change that this world needs? Our time is now.’
Dumas will be taking home 1,500 euros (approximately over P85,000) for his artwork. The artist also shared his win on Instagram and wrote in his caption, ‘This competition may come to an end but our fight for climate justice is far from over, as this is just the beginning.’
Joining Dumas are 2nd place winners include Amir Karimi’s Every Second: Lake (Iran), Ekasterina Lestienne’s The Wildfire (France), and Chloe Hajjar’s Allegory of Survival (USA). There was also a special award given to Mathare Roots and the Graffiti Girls from Mlango Kubwa for their mural artwork Team Spirit (Kenya). Each of them will receive 500 euros.
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Source: we the pvblic
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