When Ji Hyang Ryu approached her young students with the idea of creating a climate art project for her Voices of Tomorrow exhibition, they responded with resounding enthusiasm.
“They said, ‘oh yes, I can come every weekend,’ and they came every weekend to my house, to my studio,” said Hyang Ryu, a Riverview-based artist participating in the Conservation Council’s artist in residence program.
She asked the young artists how they would like to express their individual perspectives on environmental issues and got several different ideas.
To amalgamate those messages, the students crafted individual works of art on 12×12 canvases, which were then combined to form a cohesive mural. The resulting mural was displayed as part of Hyang Ryu’s exhibition launch at the Riverview library on Feb. 3 alongside the work of other seasoned artists.
The collaboration drew together the students’ concerns and anxieties about the environment and climate change. Many of the images portray a sombre vision of the future.
One student, Anna Stocker, depicted rocks ensnared in a fishnet with bird bones and feathers, showing the devastating impact of pollution on animal ecosystems.
“I’m hoping that (viewers) are going to feel a little bit sad and just kind of realize, ‘hey, if we keep going the way we’re going, then this is really what is going to happen,’” said Stocker.
Hope amid despair
Despite the sobering imagery, Stocker said participating in the project alongside other youth made her feel hopeful that they could make a difference.
“It gives me hope just that there’s other people that feel the same and that we can kind of band together and make a change,” said Stocker.
Another student, Leila Wilson, said that the jarring images are meant to make people feel uncomfortable with the problem of climate change and pollution.
“We wanted people to say ‘oh, this is really beautiful and cool,’ but then when they look closer (say) ‘this is a problem,’ Wilson said.
Raising awareness
Using the artwork to raise awareness about environmental issues is a way the youth can try and make positive change, noted Wilson.
“It was really interesting to see a lot of young people who were passionate about this,” said Wilson.
“Young people do actually care about this, and it’s something that we (have) intentions to change. So, even if things aren’t happening the way we want them to currently, maybe they will in the future.”
The mural made a lasting impression on attendees of the launch event, including Marlene MacKenzie, a member of a watercolour group that participated in the project.
“It really made you think about how poorly we treat the earth at times,” said MacKenzie.
“Every so often, young people should get together, I think, and present something like this so more and more people are more conscious of how we treat the earth…We are borrowing from them. We made this mess, so maybe we should start cleaning up and help them.”
The mural will be on display at the Riverview library for February after which it will be displayed permanently at home at the Trans Aqua Sewage Treatment Facility in Riverview. The project was generously funded by the Environmental Trust Fund.