Seoyeon Sohn’s “Muted Cries of Earth” - 2025 Finalist

Seoyeon Sohn’s “Muted Cries of Earth” 
Painting: Acrylic on canvas 
Ridgewood, NJ 

This artwork captures the intersection of human ignorance and the escalating climate crisis. While severe flood is happening, the students' behavior shows how education, one of humanity's greatest tools, can often fail to address the gravity of environmental collapse. This piece invites viewers to reflect on our collective response to climate change. Are we teaching enough, or are we floating away in willful ignorance? It is both a warning and a call to action—a reminder that the time to act is now before the classroom of the Earth becomes an irreversible flood zone.