The Cost of Advancement

Paige F.

The only materials used were white and black charcoal, paper, and a few different tools to help blend the charcoal.

• Artist Statement

  The Cost of Advancement explores the discomfort between human innovation and the natural world, but more specifically the sacrifices human make while reaching industrial goals. Using an elephant as a symbol of strength and wisdom, this piece confronts how industrial progress has slowly destroyed the wildlife and the nature surrounding it. The gears represent humanities relentless fuel to gain profit and expansion, and the human hand reaching out is both a reminder of the accountability we must take and a gesture of hope. It suggests that the same species responsible for the harm we have caused can also create change, and fix the damage we have created. It asks the question, who is paying the price of advancement, and is it really worth it?

• Creative Statement

  Creativity means bending different rules to create something that feels important to you. It means not following a strict plan but letting your brain take over and create something unique and individual. Something that inspires you.