WINNERS
First PLACE
Hamilton Smith
Justine Shih
Liz Drayna
SECOND PLACE
Nasha Wanichwecharungruang
Madison Golden
Sarah Akakpo
FIRST place
"Pandemic EMOTION"
HAMILTON SMITH
I created this piece with the intent of visually representing the chaos and disarray I have felt, seen and heard amidst the current struggles of the United States. Specifically, my composition is meant to be reflective of the abundance of information each citizen is trying to digest in relation to COVID-19, social justice and the November election. The aforementioned factors all have contributed to a vast depreciation of our country’s mental health and that is something I can personally attest to. However, throughout all the turbulence, there should always be an emphasis placed within love, rather than enmity.
"HUMANS"
JUSTINE SHIH
This is a song I wrote called Human - it explores the hurt, confusion, and ultimate freedom of what it means to be human. Sometimes our minds are our worst enemies, and with the weight of the world, being human feels like more of a burden than a gift. We are marked as 'just human' - but that is both our biggest weakness and our greatest strength. At the ends of dark paths, I've realized that we have everything we need within ourselves - and we can be whatever we want to be.
"PAST SELF"
LIZ DRAYNA
This comic explores the process of being forced to look at yourself up close and come to terms with your shortcomings. Lately, we have been in a time of reckoning. The isolation and emptiness of days in quarantine gives us no distraction from looking in on ourselves. The surge in the Black Lives Matter movement makes ignoring your own failings on the path to progress impossible. Though current events have challenged my mental stability and self-perception, they have ultimately had a transformative effect on me. These things are painful, but necessary.
SECOND place
"PRAY"
Nasha Wanichwecharungruang
In “consciousness”, I convey the three states of the mind: refusal to know, indifference and inquisitiveness. The detailed of the backdrop illustrate the delicacy of mind.The front girl closing her eyes with her hand, refuses to acknowledge her surrounding. The girl in the middle represents the indifference. She is unfazed by the glaring sun behind her and stares blankly into the distance. The girl in the back represents the inquisitive state of the mind. She is intensively concentrated. The depth of the picture suggests the depth/shallowness of the human consciousness. The piece comes together depicting states of my mind during quarantine season.
"IN MY ROOM"
MADISON GOLDEN
This piece was made in March and April of quarantine as I and most of the world struggled to adapt to the changes caused by Covid-19. I was reflecting on my relationship with my surroundings and how my room had become my entire world in a very short period of time. I represented my feelings of claustrophobia and anxiety as well as my coping mechanisms to keep myself busy during this time.
"I CAN'T BREATHE"
Sarah Akakpo
With the current state of the world, as a person of color, I have been struggling with anxiety and depression. Often times it feels like I am suffocating in this world full of air and regardless of how much I try to breathe and continue moving on, it's as if I am being held down by the struggles and injustices I face in the world. This piece depicts this. It not only represents my anxiety and depression but the struggles and oppression I face due to my intersectionality of being a person of color as well as a woman living in the United States in our current time.