Rooting for a Solution: How to Revitalize a Wasteland
The great thing about ideas is that when you keep at it, they can transform into bigger, better plans, inventions, and solutions. 🌻
The initial idea for my concept piece was illustrate this phrase: “There’s no such thing as ‘away’.” I wanted to destroy this crazy notion, “out of sight, out of mind,” because everything comes back around.
As I kept at it, I toyed with so many different sketches, titles, even the concept itself. I felt that there was more to be said than reiterating the problem already known.
Then I watched A Plastic Ocean, and I cried. I didn’t know what I could do. I felt helpless and felt that my art wouldn’t be able to create change. This was a real bummer to say the least.
I ended up finishing the documentary, and at the end, they offered solutions to this crisis. That’s when my entire idea transcended into something else.
Instead of illustrating the problem, I wanted to illustrate a solution. That’s when this title came about. Bio- and Phyto- remediation are ways to clean up toxins in water in order for life to bounce back and thrive. In the Philippines, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission took a heavily polluted river and planted plants that are known for soaking in toxins, leaving cleaner water behind. In result, fish started coming back in a wasteland that was initially deemed as a lost cause.
Some may be hopeless because of all the damage we’ve already done, but for this Earth Day, and hopefully everyday afterwards, I only ask that you think of solutions instead of dwelling on the problem. There are solutions that can revitalize wastelands like the Fukushima oil spill disaster, the islands caught in the pollution current, and the communities we live in. Our best solution is to reduce the amount of waste we create.
Stand up for what you love. This world helps us survive, it’s time to return the favor. 💙🌎
The initial idea for my concept piece was illustrate this phrase: “There’s no such thing as ‘away’.” I wanted to destroy this crazy notion, “out of sight, out of mind,” because everything comes back around.
As I kept at it, I toyed with so many different sketches, titles, even the concept itself. I felt that there was more to be said than reiterating the problem already known.
Then I watched A Plastic Ocean, and I cried. I didn’t know what I could do. I felt helpless and felt that my art wouldn’t be able to create change. This was a real bummer to say the least.
I ended up finishing the documentary, and at the end, they offered solutions to this crisis. That’s when my entire idea transcended into something else.
Instead of illustrating the problem, I wanted to illustrate a solution. That’s when this title came about. Bio- and Phyto- remediation are ways to clean up toxins in water in order for life to bounce back and thrive. In the Philippines, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission took a heavily polluted river and planted plants that are known for soaking in toxins, leaving cleaner water behind. In result, fish started coming back in a wasteland that was initially deemed as a lost cause.
Some may be hopeless because of all the damage we’ve already done, but for this Earth Day, and hopefully everyday afterwards, I only ask that you think of solutions instead of dwelling on the problem. There are solutions that can revitalize wastelands like the Fukushima oil spill disaster, the islands caught in the pollution current, and the communities we live in. Our best solution is to reduce the amount of waste we create.
Stand up for what you love. This world helps us survive, it’s time to return the favor. 💙🌎
