Kavya Bhat's "Up Close"
Kavya Bhat (Queens, New York) was originally inspired by 2023 winner Ellen Chen (Rye, New York) and created Up Close, a diptych of two interconnected, yet opposite, climate futures. “Both long for something the other has,” Bhat states, “and yet both are suffering.”
“When I think of climate change, I, like many others, think of impending doom in the future. However, over time I realized that climate change isn’t just a problem for the future, it’s an issue we live with today. “Up Close” is a set of two artworks, similar to a diptych, depicting two young children on opposite sides of the world going about their daily lives. On the left, a young boy is completing an errand in extreme heat, trekking to his drought-ridden village. On the right, a young girl is walking to school through murky floodwaters. The boy’s head and heart are red, as he knows and feels that he cannot escape the heat, but the rest of his limbs that are further from logic ache for cold. The opposite is true for the girl, who misses skipping to school in the warm spring air and instead must trudge through chilly, dirty water. Both long for something the other has, and yet both are suffering. This is mirrored in the title of this work, which can be switched from “Up Close” to “Close Up”. The reason this piece was given that title is because oftentimes, people think of politics and the big picture before zooming in and considering that individuals are suffering the effects of the climate crisis every single day. Climate change has caused both these children to lose control, to fear for their families’ heath and safety even though they are both so young. It’s terrifying growing up not knowing if the world around you will show you mercy. I live in New York, which recently experienced both a small earthquake and a flood. Neither of those are very common, and I fear everyday that New York will no longer be the geographically safe place I grew up in. For this reason, I depicted the world around both children in grayscale, to show a loss of hope and life that was once present in these ecosystems. Only the children are in color, as they are still so alive, and we adolescents are not ready to give up hope. However, the colors are limited, as are young adults, because we cannot solve the climate crisis alone. I know that many adults today won’t have to face the repercussions of rising temperatures and sea levels, but future generations will. We need to work together now to better the lives of people today and to ensure that every child grows up in a secure world full of life and color.”