Junior Earns Honors for Artwork

When Advanced Studio Art student Christopher Shim ’22 noticed people around him going through difficult times this year, he decided expressing himself through art was a way to be “a small power for good.”

Two of the pieces Shim created during that time won three awards:

  • “Hoax of Drowning Fish,” 2020 Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs: Honorable Mention. 

  • “The Boy on the Other Side,” 2020 Crown Education Challenge: Semifinalist and 2020 American Arts Contest: 4th Place for Expressionism/Human Figure.

“Chris has a strong conceptual understanding coupled with a variety of skills, including different media and careful drawing,” said Department of Visual Arts Chair Cheryl Hajjar.

His win for the pen and watercolor work “Hoax of Drowning Fish” was in the category of Climate Hope: Transforming Crisis. “I was inspired to make this piece because I recognized that human actions have been causing great harm to nature. Although it appears simple and foolish with fish praying, it signifies an urgent need for change,” explained Shim.

Shim’s self-portrait done in acrylic titled “The Boy on the Other Side," which won two awards, was inspired by his observations of life during a global pandemic. 

“Amidst all the chaos the world is in, I look at myself in the mirror and notice a myriad of changes, both big and small. The boy on the other side has long hair that covers his eyes and a mask to cover himself from the presence of others. He is alone, yet, he is not scared; hope remains in his eyes,” he wrote in the description.

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