By Pax Christi International is very pleased to announce the winners of our recent open call for artists. We invited young people to express themselves through digital creative works to encourage a states to sign the United Nations nuclear weapons ban treaty. The winners and honourable mentions were displayed at the 2021 International Peace Bureau World Peace Congress in Barcelona. We were so honoured by the contributions and the creativity and dedication of young people to nuclear disarmament.
Winner: Graphic
BIO: Janille Mariz A Garduque is a staff member at the Silsilah Dialogue Movement, a Catholic NGO working for peace and interreligious dialogue based in the Philippines. At Silsilah, she designs the Peace Education modules for children under the Tulay Bata program, she assists in the School of Nature office activities and teaches catechism to College students of the Emmaus College of Theology. She’s also a member of Pax Christi Pilipinas.
ARTWORK: This digital artwork carries the message “ban nukes, save lives.” At the centre is an image of Mother Earth carrying a baby in her womb, symbolising life. On her feet is the symbol for a nuclear weapons ban. The effects of nukes include deaths and division among peoples, which are depicted in the lower corner of the image. On the sides are coloured hands symbolizing the unity and fellowship of all races. The artwork is simply conveying the message that if nukes are banned, lives and fellowship will be saved and protected, while deaths and destruction will be prevented.
Winner: Video
BIO: The Modelia K-7 Youth Collective is an organisation that develops different actions in local communities. These are focused on mitigating the impact of social degradation (drug addiction, gangs, micro-trafficking) especially in areas where young people are immersed in such situations. Within the “Renacer Juvenil” work plan, sports, artistic and musical actions are carried out to provide comprehensive guidance to children and young people in these areas.
ARTWORK: In the video we wanted to show the irrational logic of the economic powers in the world. While they spend fortunes on war exercises there are, at the same time, millions of young people waiting for the slightest possibility to create projects necessary to improve the quality of life in their communities.
Honourable Mentions
BIO: “Adam Wright (AKA: BrainPaintProductions) is a multimedia artist from the Edinburgh, UK.
ARTWORK: ‘The Cloud’ – A surrealist depiction of the British nuclear tests on Christmas Island (codenamed ‘operation grapple’) from 1957 to 1958. Having a close friend who has been affected physically by these tests, due to his grandfather being a worker on these islands, I wanted to bring this horrific experiment to life. Its central image is the initial test where workers were told to directly stare at the blast and were subsequently tested on. The seated individuals represent the government in position of the adage ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’, which to this day the government continues to cover up the entire operation.
BIO: Christian Francis “Ian” T. Matias is the illustrator and co-creator of the “Buhay San Miguel” comic strip of the CBCP Monitor of the media office of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines since 2013. He is also the illustrator of two published works: Buhay San Miguel: Ang Sampung Utos (Paulines Publishing House, 2016) and Lulu: The Lamb Who Always Got Lost (St Pauls Publishing, 2018). He is currently a fourth-year architecture student at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
ARTWORK:
An editorial poster “Innocence” consists of a mix of the old and the young, children, commoners, the poor, disabled and abled. They are forcibly chosen to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the world as the mighty hand hovers their fates. Others cry and plead to the sky for mercy. Others still desperately resist before the nuke hits the earth. While some hopelessly gaze upon their imminent death and others pray for a miracle.
BIO: Darcy Mwuhiro is a visual artist living in Burundi (Bujumbura) with a dozen of digital paintings and an award-winning short film on his achievements. At an early age, I learned the basic of drawings through my favourite comics and today I want to make sure that the flame that rekindled my childhood curiosity never blows out. Always drawing during my free time at school, I knew deep inside me that I wanted to be an artist who breathes life into his artwork and tells unique stories to connect with people around me.
ARTWORK: A pen can be used for many things. Let’s use it to create a more peaceful world, let’s use it to sign the Nuclear Ban Treaty.
ARTWORK: Race for a change. The center of the theme is a disabled person who has the will and perseverance to finish the race. Just like us we have differences in terms of colour, religion belief and culture but we have something in common to reunite for changes. Nuclear things are a serious issue. Unlike conventional explosions, a single nuclear explosion can generate an intense pulse of thermal radiation that can start fires and burn skin over large areas. And we must be aware of this problem, especially business owners and governments, because I believe that everybody can change the world but no one wants to try. And we wanna try for the better future
BIO: Mercy Ikũri is a haiku and salsa enthusiast from Kenya who holds a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture and has been involved in environmental work spanning three continents. She enjoys engaging in “artvocacy”, helping raise awareness on a spectrum of issues ranging from disarmament and women empowerment to climate change and the benefits of organic recycling through art.
When not sketching, scribbling and dreaming up solutions to social challenges, Mercy can be found gardening, learning a new language or trying something new like bonsai . . . or Morse Code.
ARTWORK: Thinking of all the human victims of the atomic bomb, it is also worth taking a special look at the negative impact of the latter on the environment.
BIO: Sourav Mitra, a self-taught fine artist from Kolkata. A graphic designer by profession, and a painter by passion. His work is largely based on inner reflections, imaginations, dreams and memory. He loves to express himself through abstract or contemporary ways through acrylics, oil and digital media. He is founder of ‘Chhobiwala’ – a well-known artists organisation of Bengal.
ARTWORK: My artwork is a digital painting. It’s anti-nuclear. My painting states that nuclear war is like suicide for humankind. As if, like the society is entering into a fire and destroys himself.