Get ready to be inspired! The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is delighted to reveal the finalists of the 2024 Science Without Borders® Challenge. This year’s theme is “Hidden Wonders of the Deep,” and we challenged young artists from around the world to create a piece of artwork that highlights the beauty and importance of deep-sea creatures or ecosystems. We received over 1,700 entries from 82 different countries, making the selection process challenging yet rewarding.
Each submission, from intricate illustrations of mysterious deep-sea creatures to captivating depictions of unique deep-sea ecosystems, contributed a unique perspective to understanding the ocean’s mysteries. After careful deliberation, our judges have chosen finalists whose exceptional artwork exceeded expectations in creativity, originality, and adherence to the theme.
The submissions were breathtaking, and we’re eager for you to see them. Without further ado, here are the finalists for Ages 11-14 of the 2024 Science Without Borders® Challenge. Prepare to be amazed by their artwork, which showcases deep-sea creatures and ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need to preserve the deep sea.
"Discovering the Undiscovered" by Chloe Jeong, Age 14, United States of America
Artist's Statement: My artwork depicts a deep sea ecosystem that contains snailfish, bioluminescent jellyfish, anglerfish, reefs, whale fall, squid, eel, and marine worm. There is a person exploring inside a deep sea submersible, which exhibits the methods humans utilize to unveil the mysteries of the deep. The fascinating deep sea organisms are located inside and outside of the deep sea submersible. This represents how humans and the creatures of the deep sea are both on Earth but are barred from interaction due to the extremely different environments. Furthermore, my artwork illustrates a person inside the submersible closely observing a snailfish, which was recently discovered for being the deepest living fish. This represents that although the deep sea is mostly unexplored, more hidden wonders of the intriguing ecosystem are gradually being brought to light.
