Welcome to the Social Art Award 2025 – Online Gallery!
We are grateful for the many powerful contributions from artists across the globe. The selected works reflect the diversity of contemporary social art practices and address urgent issues such as climate and water crises, social and economic inequality, migration, conflict, discrimination, and the protection of human and more-than-human life.
Below you will find the submissions from the edition of 2024/2025 that passed the initial jury round. The Online Gallery offers public visibility to these works and supports dialogue around their themes; it does not replace the final jury decision.
Thank you to all artists for sharing your inspiring and committed work. We invite you to explore the gallery and engage with the perspectives shaping the Social Art Award 2025.
14
The Tree of Life
129
Title:
The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life
Author:
zimeng Zhao
zimeng Zhao
Description:
I wanted to create a visual style with a totemic feel, where the oak leaves were transformed into the form of vines, from the form towards the sky to the form towards the ground, which was not a natural development, but a man-made change. It envelops man, envelops him like a veil, and we are able to bask in the light of the oak tree. With the "oak tree" as the core image, this work integrates the Celtic culture's worship of the oak tree, the philosophy of life cycle, and the concept of pluralistic symbiosis to build a visual space full of totemic sense. The work will break the traditional perception of the natural form of the upward growth of the oak tree, and transform the oak leaves into the form of a downward hanging vine through artificial artistic processing, forming a shrouded and ritualistic visual field, a metaphor for the transformation of the relationship between human beings and nature, as well as the multiple possibilities of life forms.The tree of life, Celtic culture and the protection of the blue ocean may seem distant, but they are intimately connected through symbolism and artistic expression. The Tree of Life symbolizes the interconnection of all things, just like the interdependence of species in the marine ecosystem; The Celtic culture revered nature, and the spirals and animal motifs in its art can show the diversity and ecological balance of marine life; With its delicate and realistic characteristics, the creation of Chinese painting brushes is suitable for depicting the beauty and fragility of marine life. By extending the root system of the Tree of Life into an undersea forest, the branches and leaves symbolizing marine life, and incorporating elements and techniques of Celtic art, it is possible to create works that combine oriental aesthetics and environmental protection concepts, and arouse people's attention and action to protect the blue ocean.
I wanted to create a visual style with a totemic feel, where the oak leaves were transformed into the form of vines, from the form towards the sky to the form towards the ground, which was not a natural development, but a man-made change. It envelops man, envelops him like a veil, and we are able to bask in the light of the oak tree. With the "oak tree" as the core image, this work integrates the Celtic culture's worship of the oak tree, the philosophy of life cycle, and the concept of pluralistic symbiosis to build a visual space full of totemic sense. The work will break the traditional perception of the natural form of the upward growth of the oak tree, and transform the oak leaves into the form of a downward hanging vine through artificial artistic processing, forming a shrouded and ritualistic visual field, a metaphor for the transformation of the relationship between human beings and nature, as well as the multiple possibilities of life forms.The tree of life, Celtic culture and the protection of the blue ocean may seem distant, but they are intimately connected through symbolism and artistic expression. The Tree of Life symbolizes the interconnection of all things, just like the interdependence of species in the marine ecosystem; The Celtic culture revered nature, and the spirals and animal motifs in its art can show the diversity and ecological balance of marine life; With its delicate and realistic characteristics, the creation of Chinese painting brushes is suitable for depicting the beauty and fragility of marine life. By extending the root system of the Tree of Life into an undersea forest, the branches and leaves symbolizing marine life, and incorporating elements and techniques of Celtic art, it is possible to create works that combine oriental aesthetics and environmental protection concepts, and arouse people's attention and action to protect the blue ocean.
Description:
I wanted to create a visual style with a totemic feel, where the oak leaves were transformed into the form of vines, from the form towards the sky to the form towards the ground, which was not a natural development, but a man-made change. It envelops man, envelops him like a veil, and we are able to bask in the light of the oak tree. With the "oak tree" as the core image, this work integrates the Celtic culture's worship of the oak tree, the philosophy of life cycle, and the concept of pluralistic symbiosis to build a visual space full of totemic sense. The work will break the traditional perception of the natural form of the upward growth of the oak tree, and transform the oak leaves into the form of a downward hanging vine through artificial artistic processing, forming a shrouded and ritualistic visual field, a metaphor for the transformation of the relationship between human beings and nature, as well as the multiple possibilities of life forms.The tree of life, Celtic culture and the protection of the blue ocean may seem distant, but they are intimately connected through symbolism and artistic expression. The Tree of Life symbolizes the interconnection of all things, just like the interdependence of species in the marine ecosystem; The Celtic culture revered nature, and the spirals and animal motifs in its art can show the diversity and ecological balance of marine life; With its delicate and realistic characteristics, the creation of Chinese painting brushes is suitable for depicting the beauty and fragility of marine life. By extending the root system of the Tree of Life into an undersea forest, the branches and leaves symbolizing marine life, and incorporating elements and techniques of Celtic art, it is possible to create works that combine oriental aesthetics and environmental protection concepts, and arouse people's attention and action to protect the blue ocean.
I wanted to create a visual style with a totemic feel, where the oak leaves were transformed into the form of vines, from the form towards the sky to the form towards the ground, which was not a natural development, but a man-made change. It envelops man, envelops him like a veil, and we are able to bask in the light of the oak tree. With the "oak tree" as the core image, this work integrates the Celtic culture's worship of the oak tree, the philosophy of life cycle, and the concept of pluralistic symbiosis to build a visual space full of totemic sense. The work will break the traditional perception of the natural form of the upward growth of the oak tree, and transform the oak leaves into the form of a downward hanging vine through artificial artistic processing, forming a shrouded and ritualistic visual field, a metaphor for the transformation of the relationship between human beings and nature, as well as the multiple possibilities of life forms.The tree of life, Celtic culture and the protection of the blue ocean may seem distant, but they are intimately connected through symbolism and artistic expression. The Tree of Life symbolizes the interconnection of all things, just like the interdependence of species in the marine ecosystem; The Celtic culture revered nature, and the spirals and animal motifs in its art can show the diversity and ecological balance of marine life; With its delicate and realistic characteristics, the creation of Chinese painting brushes is suitable for depicting the beauty and fragility of marine life. By extending the root system of the Tree of Life into an undersea forest, the branches and leaves symbolizing marine life, and incorporating elements and techniques of Celtic art, it is possible to create works that combine oriental aesthetics and environmental protection concepts, and arouse people's attention and action to protect the blue ocean.