Dystopia as viewed through Teenage eyes

We went to see Shannon's school art exhibition featuring work by the year 5 visual art students. They were excellent and showed a level of skill and thoughtfulness that you might not think 17-year-old teens are capable of. Various types of pieces were featured (using different mediums) and a range of themes was also explored - making the artwork not just an outward reflection of their craft, but an inner expression of their thoughts and contemplations about life.

Oceanic Devoid by Erwin Chan (Year 5, SOTA)

Although there were some bright and cheery artworks, many featured dark and gloomy landscapes or people in twisted and pained expressions. The writeups contained words like "dystopia", "meaningless", "emptiness" and "fleeting". Art creation allows these students to express their inner thoughts into an amalgamation of colours on a page, as a universal manifestation of their confusion and scepticism for all to see.

And for those of us that have teens, we should understand. These are difficult years, but also ones filled with hope and aspirations. A bewildering time of stress and angst, self-discovery and expectations for an uncertain future. Art gives these teens an outlet - I hope other kids have alternative ways to be heard, seen and understood without getting into trouble.

The future does, at times, look bleak - with raging wars, climate change, divisive politics and governments, the rise of AI and technology and so on, it isn't hard to imagine a near future looking like a dystopian wasteland ruled by non-human intelligence, monitoring our every move and dictating our lives.

But let's not go there yet. Instead, be supportive, positive and hopeful that like it was in our generation, life will find a way.