RATIONALE ON THE ArtScienceTM Lens On Planetary Health

Our health and well-beings are tied to how we treat nature and its resources and covers very broad transdisciplinary subject matters that are crucial for the sustainability of this planet.

For this year’s submission, an unlimited number of interpretations of the theme can be explored; gigantic to microscopical details of the subject matter; embracing artistic, philosophical, sociological, economic or technological perspectives.

An interconnection between human well-being, animal well-being and the health of the earth

Climate crisis/addressing concerns of ecological crises/greenwashing/ sociopolitical impact

Green technologies/green solutions/mitigation strategies/digital living

Circular economy/alternative material/sustainability

“Boxxie-Head” is a cardboard artwork commemorating the loss of species of the Sumatran rhino that once roamed the foothills and rainforests in Asia. The species was officially declared extinct in the wild of Malaysia in August 2015. A distinctive kind of art known as ‘sculpture’ can beautifully and meaningfully encapsulate the essence of an occasion. Cardboard sculpture denotes artworks made from different types of this material and is beyond the apparent call for recycling. It is repurposing the cardboard waste into something through a moving process.

The artists studied the strength and dynamic of cardboard through its corrugated structure and design performance to measure and calculate subject proportions and settings through space and size. The artists understand bone structure through science and how skin and fats respond to posture. It gives them several renditions of vague ideas contemplating subject weight and properties.

The artwork is a group initiative of three academicians from the Ceramic Department, College of Creative Arts, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. They recognise the importance of art, innovation and the power of science to shape the world. By adding arts to science, the artists embrace the overall learning experience creatively.