Filipino digital artist Bricx Martillo Dumas won first place in the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) art competition, besting 208 artworks.
Dumas, an alumnus of the University of Santo Tomas, bagged the top prize in the DigitalArt4Climate competition of COP26 with the theme "Humanity Challenged by Climate Change."
His winning digital art entitled "Nexus" depicted a hand holding a plastic and straw and a cigarette whose smoke evaporates into tiny leaves.
"Joining this competition was not only a chance to represent my country but also to champion our call for climate action that art is a powerful tool to make current issues and problems easier to understand by everyone," Dumas said in a recorded video message.
"My art, Nexus, is a visual representation of how our simple everyday lifestyle affects our environment, ecosystem, and how we struggle to live," he added.
Dumas will be awarded 1,500 euros (around P86,113) for his feat.
Born in Palo, Leyte, Dumas recalled how his hometown suffered the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) eight years ago, saying "it changed my life forever."
"Should we wait for another typhoon stronger than Haiyan just to realize that this world is suffering from mass extinction? Or should we be the change that this world needs? Our time is now," he ended.
DigitalArt4Climate aims to inspire and promote climate action through the power of culture and technology and empower the uptake of digital innovation by the creative community in "an accessible and meaningful way."
COP26 was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held in Glasgow, Scotland from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12.