Artist Statement

"The goal behind Fading Away was to try and create a visual that brings attention to the urgent plight of coral in the world today. It was challenging to both illustrate the beauty of what we’re rapidly losing due to climate change and pollution, but also underscore the danger of the current situation. Thus, two versions of the print were made. The full “lush” version highlights the overwhelming color and beauty of a natural coral reef, while the “bleached” version emphasizes how much of the coral is looking today, bleached, near dead, and devoid of color. The element of the skull is also more emphasized in this version. It was an intentional reason to include a human skull, to draw the connection to the ocean and ourselves, to highlight the very literal way we can “see” ourselves connected to the ocean. What we will lose from the ocean will be directly felt by us as a human species.

On a technical note, this was one of the most challenging screenprint images I've created to date, with the full color builds and tonal range requiring airtight registration and color accuracy. Many thanks to the printing crew at VGKids for the exceptional job, as well of course, to Tre' Packard, PangeaSeed Foundation Founder, and Executive Director, for having me on the project and for his patience in how long the print took to come to fruition."

N.C. Winters

Artist Bio