Blog / December 16, 2021
GENEVA, 26 November (Group on Earth Observations) - A total of 16 artists from around the world were announced as winners of the first-ever GEO Art competition, which ran from 15 September to 15 November and attracted 49 entries from 26 countries ranging from Peru to Morocco, Ghana, Sri Lanka and South Korea. The youngest artist was 7 years old (Athit Kid from Thailand) and the oldest artist was over 60 years old.
The competition encouraged artists of all ages to creatively explore the theme: "Mother Earth, I See You, I Hear You, I Feel You.”
Winners were selected by 3 distinguished judges: Nicole Stott, artist, astronaut, and earthling; Jeremy Donovan, Aboriginal artist and musician; and Claudio Munoz, illustrator and writer from Chile. Based on the entries received, the jury selected 16 winners from 5 different categories: "Painting", "Mixed Media", "Photography", "Illustration" and "Video & Music".
Alongside their artworks, the artists also shared poignant reflections on the state of our beautiful Mother Earth.
“Sitting in this place, I feel [the] Earth's pulse. Trees are the lungs of our planet. Generously, lovingly and silently, they provide innumerable services to all life on Earth. The delicate ecological dance between the soil, insects, vegetation, hydrology, create a simultaneously stimulating and soothing cradle for life. I sat at this very place, on the bank of a creek near my home, on a cool October afternoon, and marvelled at the comfort, beauty, and power of the symbiotic life force emanating from every crevice of our Earth.”
-Tara Illgner, Graduate student at UVA studying atmospheric chemistry, focusing on Carbon Capture, science-communication and policy.
“This work [..] uses satellite data to gaze back at Earth from thousands of kilometres into space, and in so doing it invokes one of the important findings from the early years of space travel, the “overview effect”, the rise in environmental consciousness experienced by astronauts when they first view the Earth from the outside, as a fragile orb floating in space. "
-Media artist Grayson Cooke and composer Dugal McKinnon, The "Himawari" art/science artwork featuring data from the Himawari 8 satellite.
“This artwork's name is Mother Earth. In this the factories and buildings show human deeds which causes pollution. And the river below Earth's leg shows that Earth is on the verge of getting drowned in chemicals.Mother earth is holding the planet in her arms shows that she still doesn't hate humans and is providing them with shelter..It shows Earth's love. And the starry sky shows that the future is not yet dark..and we can still save her. Even though we harm our Mother earth she endures it and keeps being our one and only home.
Yu Yunchen. 8 year old student from Fuzhou Chayuanshan Central Primary School.
“When it comes to raising awareness about the power that Earth observations hold to live in harmony with nature, one of the most powerful tools of communication we have is art. As it is inclusive, accessible and transcends communities, culture, time and languages.” said Yana Gevorgyan, GEO Secretariat Director. Nicole Stott added, “The theme: Mother Earth, I See You, I Hear You, I Feel You is what really pulled me in, because I think it really speaks to people in so many different ways and has a way to bring to life not just the data we are getting from our planet, but the heart of it as well.”
To find new solutions to our most pressing societal challenges, we need to look at the world from different angles. And that's what this art competition has allowed us to do - take a step back and look at the world around us from a different perspective.
See all winners here
Visit all artworks here
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