10 Months

Sarah Zou

Year 12

School: Willetton Senior High School

Medium: Oil paint on canvas

Artist statement: Climate change is a critical problem, one that must be urgently reversed. The title of my artwork illustrates the amount of time we have left before the ‘tipping point’ is reached, based on recent studies. The fire is symbolic of the climate crisis and is also a reference to the brutal 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, a product of this crisis. The wooden, antique chair symbolises our frailty in the face of climate change and also the antiquity of our past attitudes towards the environment. I was influenced by the glazing and chiaroscuro techniques of Henrik Aarrestad Ulalden, Frida Kahlo’s heavy use of symbolism and Kehinde Wiley’s realistic style.