And eventually, there’s nothing left!

The message that this “eventually” could come sooner than expected is powerfully conveyed through the image. The global resource consumption is so immense that humanity has already used up all the natural resources the Earth can produce for an entire year by mid-July. By doing so, we are irreversibly destroying part of the foundation for future generations’ existence.

With these and other facts in mind, an art class in the 10th grade at the Marion-Dönhoff-Gymnasium in Hamburg tackled the issue. Guided by the project team from globalgoals.hamburg, the students developed various messages and mural designs related to the SDG 12 “Sustainable Production and Consumption.” The above-mentioned design was created by student Fine Engelbert:

“When thinking about consumption and production, I first thought of plastic. That’s how the image of our planet, trapped in a plastic cup and sucked dry by our consumption, came to be. I want to express that resources are not endless, and eventually—soon, in fact—they will become scarce. What I find especially important is that everyone realizes that this cannot continue at this speed.”

The 15-year-old explains about her image. The art class agreed that Fine’s design should be printed as a motif. The detailed conversation with Fine Engelbert can be read here.

The art teacher vividly describes the approach to addressing the topic in the art and PGW classes. The objects and sketches created along the way to the final design can be discovered here.