Holliston High School Covid-19 Climate Change Artwork

HOLLISTON – Then freshman Ava Kaviani and her classmates were to come up with an idea for their public art project class at Holliston High School.

It was early 2020, and the threat of climate change and the devastating wildfires in Australia were central to students’ concerns.

The students went to work in the high school art gallery, Studio 370, using just a few art tools to complete their project: scissors and green and blue PiktoTape, a type of tape used to create artwork. art on the walls.

At one end of the studio, a lush green forest teeming with life has been created. In the center, long tree leaves engulf viewers as they explore the painting on the wall. And at the other end, a big forest fire takes center stage. Trees have been burnt and felled; and animals are rare.

Progress was steady, but just as the project was nearing completion, the coronavirus struck in mid-March. Like many other things, the project has been put on hold indefinitely.

Fast forward to this spring, and a group of students have been tasked with picking up where the last lesson left off.

The finished product is a reflection on the pandemic and the past year, but also in keeping with the vision of the previous class, explained Doug Lack, art teacher and chair of the art department.

“We went into space and we said, ‘OK, the issues we’re talking about are still really big, but we’re all going through something that neither of us has ever dealt with before,” “he said. he declares.

Thinking back to last year, the students created rocks next to a waterfall that had already been created. Words that have emerged over the past year are written on these rocks, some of which include “COVID-19”, “BLM”, “Fauci”, “Zoom” and “George Floyd”.

Lack said public art has the ability to shape people’s perspectives and help them become deeper thinkers.

“Part of our mission is to champion and showcase the arts and work of students and to share their voices,” he said.

Looking at the finished product, Kaviani said she was “super happy” with the way it came out.

“I just walked around the room looking at each other’s rooms and how it all came together,” she said.