A THOMASIAN’s piece won the DigitalArt4Climate art competition at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Advertising alumnus Bricx Martillo Dumas’ artwork “Nexus” was named first among 208 artworks from 58 countries.
“[Nexus is] all about our everyday lifestyle na nakakaapekto sa ating environment, hindi natin napapansin ay may malaki pala siyang epekto,” Dumas told the Varsitarian.
His digital artwork portrayed an image familiar to Filipinos: a hand holding a cigarette with leaves spewing out like smoke and a plastic bag of water with a straw.
Dumas said he drew inspiration from his 2019 experience with a vending machine in Mindanao that charged P2 for potable water.
The 2016 documentary film “Before the Flood,” and the long-term effects of humans’ consumption choices were also among Dumas’ inspirations.
“I felt that this was something that we needed to work on — offering drinking water to the community and having sustainable solutions for our future. It was a solution that was both available and affordable, but we needed something that had [a] lasting impact [on] the community and [on] the environment,” Dumas said.
Dumas set aside his signature colorful illustrations for the competition as he believed the style did not reflect the state of the environment.
“At first, I wanted to create this artwork using this signature style, full of colors and depicting a happy mood. Then I realized that I didn’t want the final output to reflect happiness but more [of] a sober mood that will show the state of the world and our environment today,” he explained.
Dumas graduated from the UST College of Fine Arts and Design in 2012. He is taking his master’s degree in cultural heritage studies at the University.
DigitialArt4Climate is a multi-stakeholder initiative that uses blockchain technology to establish authenticity on any digital file.
The central theme of the competition was “Humanity challenged by climate change.”
“This competition may come to an end, but our fight for climate justice is far from over,” Dumas in his recorded speech via the DigitialArt4Climate’s official Youtube account.
The announcement of the winners was posted to Instagram on Nov. 14.
Amir Karimi, Ekaterina Lestienne, and Chloe Hajjar won second place, while Mathare Roots and Graffiti Girls won the special award.
“Nexus,” together with the other 30 climate action artworks, will be exhibited in Glasgow, Scotland. With reports from Jacqueline B. Martinez
