watercolor, color pencil, and ink; 16×20”
“Have you ever noticed how cramped subway cars and city streets are? This is a prime example of overpopulation, and it is a leading cause of climate change and food insecurity worldwide. I used watercolor as a background for my piece to make it look murky and give a gloomy feel. I used fine line detail on the figures in the foreground. The shading was done with colored pencil so the color could be laid down unevenly, making the train car look dirty and rusted. The weathered nature of the train symbolizes how overpopulation has a negative effect on the environment it occurs in. as the figures get further away from the foreground they lose more characteristics, showing that in a society that is overcrowded people go overlooked and individuals will suffer. The dark figures in the very back communicate the feeling of a negative future if overpopulation goes unsolved. Overpopulation is unsustainable, overuse of resources will deplete finite resources quickly and therefore leave people without food or housing. Overpopulated cities suffer with an abundance of waste that cannot be disposed of. Schools in overpopulated areas become overcrowded with many more students than teachers, leading to a lower quality of education. In an overpopulated society, each member of the population will have a lower quality of life.”
ARTIST BIO: Ava CAMPBELL is a grade 12 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.