Selected work / 04

Coral’s Despair

Medium

Ink, yarn, and glass

Dimensions

52 × 25 in

Palette

Monochrome · Earth · High Contrast

The final artwork appears on the left side of the page. The use of ink conveys the discoloration of dead coral reefs around the world. The tree roots made from yarns symbolize people on land reaching deep into the ocean and extracting resources relentlessly until the consequences kill marine life. I created this as both a memorial and a call to action for the coral reefs we have lost worldwide. The ink drawing at the top right is my process image, revealing the more detailed drawing beneath the tangled tree roots I added later. Below the coral, dead fishes lie between the rocks. At the bottom right, a glass coral study I made alongside the ink drawing helped me understand the structure and growth patterns of the coral.

© Leah Qi. All rights reserved. This image may not be copied, reproduced, modified, trained on, distributed, sold, or used commercially without the artist’s written permission.