Student Gallery

From artifacts to portraits and landscapes of the living world, explore student artwork to encourage meaningful conversations in the classroom. Learn how to use the gallery.

Use Image Analysis Activity

Romina Arredondo (age 18)

Naucalpan, Mexico

The Face of Progress

A leaf rotten from its center.
A dark stain that at its fervor steps burns.
A leaf without precedents nor relations.
I am the only witness of its existence.
And even though I don’t watch, it lives and dies.

Observant, I find the stain taking shape in its expansion.
Clouds of steam push towards the edges of the leaf
Unpainting every green brush stroke with indifference.
Agonizing, the leaf talks to me through its pattern
and its drawing has the face of progress.

Two sentences inspired the creation of my project. Linda Hogan wrote, “What a strange alchemy we have worked, turning earth around to destroy itself, using earth’s own elements to wound it.” And, Wendell Berry wrote, “The environment is in you, it’s passing through you, you’re breathing it in and out, you and every other creature.” Both statements address the arrogance and impudence of human beings who feel that they are the owner of everything and then become destroyers. The process that I carried out to embody the idea was to put an acetate with a photo of a factory on a leaf of a plant called Pothos, so that it would be printed under the sunlight.

We find so many resources in the nature environment, and instead of taking care of and thank that source of wealth, man is coldly exploiting it. Hand in hand with the above, we have built a hierarchy in which we, as humans, are above everything and that is now part of our molding, so we ignore the fact that as living beings that make up the same world, we are equal. As individuals we exclude ourselves from what we consider to be resources, and we turn them into products that unbalance the environmental order.

Lily West (age 16)

Maine, U.S.

Do you feel all the fish swimming to the surface?

"Do you feel all the fish swimming to the surface?" is a part of a small series of pieces about the beauty of and the destruction of the environment. As I learned more about the environment, I started to focus on whales and sea creatures. The ancient nature of whales is so clear in their size, the way their migratory patterns and song patterns work in communication with one another. There is something about the wisdom and knowledge of the oceans that these animals possess that would be lost if they were to go extinct, or their numbers were to drop greatly.

People have such little understanding of the ocean, which is why the whale's tail is all that is revealed. We do not, and simply cannot, know the waters to the same depth that they do. Also in the piece, there is a hawksbill turtle below the whale's tail. The beautiful pattern and colors on the back of hawksbill turtles inspired me to choose them as a species. Both of these animals have a history of endangerment. Humpback whales have made a major comeback since 1950 when their numbers dropped to 440. The current population is now around 120,000 to 150,000. In contrast, however, the hawksbill sea turtle is listed as critically endangered. They are in danger due to people hunting for their beautiful shells, among the other threats they face. The red lines are up for interpretation, but in my view, they show how much understanding of the oceans these creatures carry within them, and what it would mean for this to be lost. The beauty and wisdom of such animals are something that must not be destroyed.

Abigail Getty (age 17)

Illinois, U.S.

“Living beings are referred to as subjects, never as objects, and personhood is extended to all who breathe and some who don’t. I greet the silent boulder people with the same respect as I do the talkative chickadees,” writes Robin Wall Kimmerer. What happens when the world falls silent? When all falls still? Before this pandemic, we bustled and hustled through life, never looking further than our own field of vision we defined as our world. Our heads were in our phones, our gazes to the ground, untouched by life’s worst. The minute we were yanked from the routine comfort, and into the face of danger, we lost it. Each of us has become numb, terrified, scared, and more awake.

There are the trees to whisper secrets to and the water to awaken your memories, the birds to sing you awake, the frogs to sing you to sleep, the breeze to tickle your face during the day, and the fire to brighten your face in the dark of night. As humanity became isolated, we learned to cherish these things, some we may have never known. These are the fruits of life and they give themselves to us. Humankind has to remember its place in this shared beauty of the world.

Kunsh Puranik (age 18)

Lombardia, Italy

There are two sides in this photo. The right half of the image represents nature, while the left half represents humans. As seen in the image, both the human and the symbol of nature are at an equal height. This represents balance and coexistence with nature. The Covid-19 pandemic gave me time to reflect on our relationship with Mother Nature. In my opinion, it is impossible to continue living if we treat our flora and fauna with such disrespect. We must coexist with nature and a significant part of that is adjusting our lifestyles and imitating nature. In the image, the person holding the conical funnel represents an adaptation and imitation of nature [the bird]. Humans have abused the environment for too long now and it's time we show nature the same respect we show our elders. It is only through balance that prosperity will be sustained and the light of life will shine bright.

May Wu (age 17)

California, U.S.

My drawing carries a message of hope for the future of our planet’s ecosystem. The background shows the environmental consequences of war and pollution—the smoke and burning vehicles behind a girl holding a glowing earth in the center. My use of color symbolizes optimism: we can save the earth but we must come together to make change. The girl carries this message into the future. My piece raises awareness of the fragility of our environment and denounces those who cause harm to our one and only earth.

Gianna Gazulla (age 16)

California, U.S.

Unexpected Beauty

As quoted by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” My photograph captures the unexpected beauty that exists within my community. It represents the significance of national parks in the United States and across the globe through the tangible aspects and genuine opportunities that they offer. These opportunities allow us as protectors of the earth to more fully form a personal connection with our planet—to be conscious about our actions and the impact that they have on the earth. My photograph was taken in Yosemite National Park, and though it doesn’t depict the popular imagery that many people associate with this national park, such as Half Dome or El Capitan, it symbolizes that beauty can reveal itself through lesser known, or unexpected, places.

It wasn’t easy to achieve this image, but the process reminded me that anything that is worthwhile isn’t easy—for example, protecting the Earth against climate change and environmental impacts. We have a responsibility to make sacrifices in order to call ourselves true stewards of the Earth, and during that process, we recognize the beauty that we are called to protect.

Gabe Marusic (age 17)

Ohio, U.S.

Bought and Sold

Reciprocity is a two way road, and yet we have treated our Earth like a one-way highway, one in which we take everything without giving back. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I began to go on more walks as I found being in nature one of the best ways to escape from the hustle and bustle of the world. On one of these walks I found this sign and felt a strange irony in finding it in a forested area and decided to capture the emotion I felt behind it. In my photo, Bought and Sold, I try to capture the idea of how people often find they have the right to buy and sell nature to other people. I find that the harsh black and white film I used captures the raw emotion behind the ideas of this photo, as well as the natural sunset lighting that was used. The sign reads “sale pending,” implying the sale has not even happened yet, and yet the land is still being reserved rather than enjoyed by people. If we as people want to remain on this planet, maintaining a true relationship of reciprocity with the Earth is essential. When we just take from the Earth and never give back, we slowly kill the Earth. I found the following quote from Kimmerer especially relevant, “Birds, bugs, and berries are spoken of with the same respectful grammar as humans are.” It relates to the idea of nature and humans all being interconnected as one rather than being the two separate entities we paint them as. People tend to cut up and sell this planet we all share, but this is not our job. It was simply one we convinced ourselves we had.

Edward Bennett (age 15)

Ohio, U.S.

Life On Metal

My ecosystem has been gradually decaying. There are fewer and fewer trees standing, and buildings and bridges are taking over the habitat. My artwork documents the balance between nature and new construction, a battle that nature is sadly losing, engulfed by industrialization. My artwork communicates how nature and manmade objects coexist in the world and how there must be limits and boundaries set in place in order to protect the planet. I hope my artwork will show that we need to take immediate action to fix the world.

Bailey Seaton (age 16)

Florida, U.S.

Glass Planet

I have always been fascinated with reflections. I was walking in New York City and saw a circular mirror, the kind used to keep one safe from running into someone or from attack. Before taking the picture, I took note of the setting. I saw all the lines intersecting towards the mirror: the sharp lines of the awnings, the metal pole, and the buildings off in the distance. The living tree rests outside this awning, twisting and adjusting itself to the lifeless metal and concrete city. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I might not have taken this shot. But when I look at how trees struggle for life in the concrete jungle of New York City, it made me think of the struggle for life in the human race, how this struggle to overcome the pandemic rewarded the planet in unexpected ways, and how air quality improved and animals and plants flourished. There are two central living beings (me and the tree). We are the central subjects, not objects. The living and the inanimate are juxtaposed against each other, converging at the center point, the mirror, the point of reflection. The reflection in the circular mirror of the circular world shows life the way it is, the way it should be—mankind, plant kind, and lifeless buildings existing equally.

Jessica Zighelboim (age 16)

Florida, U.S.

The Greenhouse

As time has progressed, humankind has grown somewhat disconnected from the natural world, choosing the material world over the natural, but humans can never truly leave the living world behind. The majority of homes people live in now, especially throughout the U.S., do not traditionally include any sort of factor that keeps them continuously connected to nature, not in the way this greenhouse does. This piece is a photograph of the house of a neighbor of mine, an environmentalist and an advocate for the protection of the natural world. The owner has effectively and efficiently created a small ecosystem for all of these plants, birds, butterflies and more, to live and thrive in. The owner lives in unity with the natural world, allowing the plants to cover their home and flourish.

This incredible interconnectedness between humankind and nature is symbolized by the elegance of the vines and the way they stretch throughout the entirety of the home, keeping the person feeling grounded and connected to the earth. A sense of inner peace is apparent in the precise arrangement of nature as a whole, not seeming overgrown or restricted but perfectly balanced.

Ned Henderson (age 17)

Queens Park, Australia

Unsettling Evidence

I am fortunate enough to witness two worlds in my country: the continual game of monopoly within the urban sprawl of Sydney and the often forgotten rural hearts and souls. This macro perspective of the inevitable devastation of our bushfire season was a message to the world. Being located within the city of Sydney NSW during the 2019-2020 fire season, I noticed a disconnection between people around me and what was happening only a couple hours drive west. This alarmed me, as I was viewing updates hourly for months whilst the majority were not concerned. With many family members having to evacuate multiple times, and watching the map for fires near the family farm, it wasn’t the greatest summer. After a fire storm swept through the rural town of Bilpin NSW, I was eager to examine the results. It honestly shocked me, as you cannot prepare yourself for what you see. To think that this is just one handful of ash and one small town upon thousands.

The film Earthrise made me consider scale and perspective. We could see the fires from space and feel the ash in New Zealand, but my image considers the inverse of this by examining the slightest fragment of the big picture. It is important to acknowledge the close connection between cities and the bush and the world's interconnectedness of ecosystems.

The gesture in the image is a transactional exchange of what we have offered and what the natural world offered in return—45 million acres of flaming earth.

Isabel Mendoza (age 17)

Villa Verdun, Mexico

“I hope my grandson will always know the other beings as a source of counsel and inspiration, and listen more to butterflies than to bulldozers.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer

Navillera
Flying beautifully, like a butterfly

It's an ethereal sight, a dream-like komorebi. The clean, fresh air of the forest, along with so many wings flapping and a river-like sound, fills the space. This is one of the most beautiful moments in my life in a place where dreaming and wishing were allowed. The migratory phenomenon of the Monarch butterfly is one of the most extraordinary and mind-blowing trajectories of a living organism. Every autumn, they abandon their breeding grounds in Canada and Northern U.S. for millions to arrive in Mexico, flying far away from the cold to a place where the temperature allows them to recharge energy. When the time comes, they go north once more. Getting to the north can take between three and four generations to complete. With unique abilities of direction and navigation, they only need good temperature with sunlight, water, and trees to rest on. It's us who need to make sure they go unbothered, but we have failed to do so. The number of monarchs each day is decreasing. This is caused by the disappearance of milkweeds, in which they lay their eggs, and climate change.

When I had the opportunity to visit the butterflies in Sierra Chincua, I realized the beauty of nature and how isolated the cities are. One may think the opposite, that in the middle of the forest you are in the middle of nowhere, but that's not true. When you stand in a place full of life, you are connected with yourself and accompanied by music, stories, love, dreams ,and wonder. Listening to the living world is much simpler than you think; it comes naturally if you let yourself go. It's when you are able to open your heart and mind, realizing we are not the only ones on this planet that you are finally starting to listen. You may lose yourself between hearing and listening. To find the difference, you need to learn about the world and its organisms. You don't have to be an expert—just treat it carefully. This planet gives us the warmth of a mother and the embrace and protection we need. If she always carries us on her back, and we don't start using our legs, she will get tired and we will both fall. If we choose to listen to our destruction instead of her stories, there will be no more future for her other daughters and sons...for our daughters and sons.

Emily Williamson (age 17)

Christchurch, New Zealand

Everyone needs to take time to appreciate our planet a bit more. We can see the negative effects we have made to the Earth and how it tries to heal itself. I believe my relationship to the planet is a protective one. My ancestors once believed that they did not own the Earth but cared for it. Papatuanuku was the earth mother and they worshiped her. She provided them with what they needed, and they did not abuse this relationship. Today, we are greedy humans who believe we own the land and all that resides on it. We take and take but never give back. The bee in my image does the exact opposite of this. When it takes pollen from a flower, it gives some as well, providing a fair exchange. I believe our relationship with the Earth should be the same.

I would like this place in the world to be remembered for giving back to the creatures of the land and restoring what once was— an exchange to Papatuanuku for being able to reside on her own Earth.

The Earthrise image inspired me to change my perspective, not just in photography, but in my life and in decision-making as well. For this image, Earthrise inspired me to look at the world from not only someone else's point of view but from the point of view of something else. Bees work together to create and support each other and unlike humans, they are not selfish or greedy. They work individually to come together and combine their efforts. I chose this bee in particular because it worked by itself on a single flower. Despite being alone, it has a team and a hive that supports it. This mirrors the epidemic we face currently, and serves as a reminder that we may be alone working, but we are alone together. We are working as one to save lives.

My image was taken at my home. This image always reminds me that sometimes the wonders of the world are right under your nose. You just have to look. We can be content with where we live and what we have. This bee does not complain about the size of the flower or lack of pollen. It simply does what it needs to do. I should not complain about the size of my home or the lack of friends currently visiting me. My home is special to me because it is where my family is. They are the ones who support me through everything, just like how this flower supports the bee.

William French (age 16)

New York, U.S.

We will continue to host photo contests throughout the year and we will b
My photograph is an interpretation of how we are all interconnected. It is an abstract close-up of a wire horse sculpture my father bought for me in Bogota, Colombia.The sunlight shining on the out-of-focus foreground makes the image feel curved like a sphere or a planet. The background is in focus and unlike the foreground, feels shaded in darkness. The intersecting lines are symbolic of how we are all connected to one another as human beings that share the same home.

While watching Earthrise, I was inspired by how the Apollo 8 astronauts felt about their place in the universe when seeing the Earth from space. They felt humbled to see the Earth from that perspective. At the same time, the experience allowed them to see the Earth without countries or borders that separate people. They felt an overwhelming connection to humanity. I see this feeling of unity in my photograph, as well as the beauty and chaos we’re experiencing at this moment in history.

I see a duality in my photograph. Sometimes I see it as a nest that provides safety. I also see the barbed wire of a prison that confines and isolates. This is a metaphor for our relationship to the Earth, especially during the pandemic. As people have been sheltering in place, pollution has been decreasing and the natural world has started to heal. Will we nurture Earth so it is our sanctuary? Or will we continue to destroy it and make it a prison? Like the Apollo 8 astronauts, I want to feel humbled about my place in the world, knowing we are all connected despite the divisions that prevent us from caring about each other and the Earth.

Rose Lehrman (age 17)

Michigan, U.S.

I have always been fascinated by bird nests. When I was younger, I would try to make them on my own but, unsurprisingly, I never could quite manage to. The technique, time, and effort that a bird puts into building a nest is something that I try to emulate in my artistic practice. I’m a filmmaker and the work that I do often involves weaving random pieces of stuff together into something beautiful. A bird can see the value in a single piece of thread or a piece of trash. I think that is something we should all aspire to. I found this nest at a particularly low point in my life. It was a reminder that good things take time to build.

The living world is constantly telling us what it needs, but often, we don’t listen. Taking the time out of our day to put everything down and be in nature is something that a lot of people don’t make time to do. As humans, it is our responsibility to fight for a more equitable world where everyone can take the time to connect with the living earth that we are all a part of. We have a responsibility to fight against the corporations and oil magnates who are knowingly causing harm to this planet that we all call home. We already know what the living world is saying. Listening to it is another matter altogether.

Romina Arredondo (age 18)

Naucalpan, Mexico

The Face of Progress

Gianna Gazulla (age 16)

California, U.S.

Unexpected Beauty

Ned Henderson (age 17)

Queens Park, Australia

Unsettling Evidence

The gesture in the image is a transactional exchange of what we have offered and what the natural world offered in return—45 million acres of flaming earth.

Lily West (age 16)

Maine, U.S.

Do you feel all the fish swimming to the surface?

Gabe Marusic (age 17)

Ohio, U.S.

Bought and Sold

Isabel Mendoza (age 17)

Villa Verdun, Mexico

“I hope my grandson will always know the other beings as a source of counsel and inspiration, and listen more to butterflies than to bulldozers.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer

Navillera
Flying beautifully, like a butterfly