In the run up to the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si we wanted to share some of the art and reflections of three very special young artists from Notre Dame school, who worked together last year to produce a triptych focusing on the fragile balance that we find ourselves in across the world today. Tanya Trevena, Caritas Development Worker, caught up with Giuliana, Niamh and Lexi, and asked them about their work.
You illustrated the statistic that ‘since the 1970s there has been 60% decline in all wildlife’. How did that make you feel?
“I thought we need to look up where it is happening and the part of the world that we need to protect more and raise awareness about more”.
“In the middle of my image is a timer to show how we’re running out of time, there is the extinction of animals and also the world is rapidly getting destroyed. We need to have a nice side of life, illustrated by the dove who’s flying freely. Then we need to sort out something about what’s going on behind the curtains, I mean that some people will disregard what’s going on in the world and they’ll just see the goodness. But there’s also badness that they won’t look at, because their main focus is everything that’s nice and they’ll just ignore everything that’s bad.”
“We talk about the good things we never talk about the bad things, but with this art piece, we need to show it to them. We need to talk to more people about what’s happening. I hope people may see it and say, ‘Oh, that looks amazing, but what’s the story behind that?’ And then that can start a conversation.”
“I believe we definitely all need to talk, because there’s a lack of it and when people do mention it, some people push away from it. But I feel like we need some social circles that will talk about the message and then, maybe like us, make an art piece about it and show it somewhere where it’s more public so people can start those conversations. People can start fighting for what’s right in the world -what’s better.”
“I feel like it’s definitely made us think about all the animals that get killed. They’re cutting down forests and destroying their habitats. I’ve seen videos, where fishes are losing their habitat and that really hurt me because I thought, ‘Oh, so we’re living happily in houses, but then animals that have been here longer than us, they don’t have that, because it’s been taken away from them.’ Why are we taking that?”
Did you enjoy the project?
“Yeah, it was fun to make an art piece that would stand out and start the conversations. You’ve got to think more deeply, that can show what’s going on in the world. The deer represents what we are losing and shows how something will go extinct the more that we kill them.”
“I like that art does most of the speaking.”
The Laudato Si exhibition provided visitors with the opportunity to see pieces that had been created by all of our CAST schools in the city of Plymouth. Each display was part of a prayer walk around the Cathedral and was accompanied by questions to ponder and suggestions of ways to put small changes into our lifestyle to lessen our impact on this earth and start to Care for Creation. If you missed the exhibition, then we invite you to follow the links to three short videos and take a mini prayer walk of your own around each vital topic.
Laudato Si exhibition 2024 – Sustainability
Laudato Si exhibition 2024 – Air pollution
Laudato Si exhibition 2024 – Ecological Conversion
We have a new exhbition this year featuring photographs from around the Diocese reflecting on the beauty of God’s creation. You will be able to visit the exhibition at Plymouth Cathedral from 19th-25th May.
If you would like to know more about the work of Caritas or are interested in seeing what your parish could do to make an even bigger impact in Caring for Creation, then please do get in touch caritas@prcdtr.org.uk