A Kalani High School student’s illustration evoking the heartbreak of the state’s housing crisis was among the top finishers of the annual Congressional Art Competition for Hawaii’s 1st District.
Yu-An Ma, a senior at Kalani, used colored pencils on black paper for her work titled “Burden of Paradise.” The illustration shows a house with dollar signs woven into its foundation, carried on the back of a man crawling on his hands and knees, with help from a mother with a child.
Ma was “trying to convey the burden of people having to deal with what she says is ‘the housing crisis in Hawaii’ — with many people not making enough money to buy a home, which makes it difficult to live in the islands,” said a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Ed Case, the district’s congressional representative.
Ma and a guest will receive a round trip for two on Southwest Airlines to attend the National Awards Competition in Washington, D.C., plus other prizes. Her winning artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year, alongside those of winners in other districts.
More than 70 art pieces by public, private and home-schooled high school students were submitted, “my largest number of entries yet,” Case said in a news release. “All of this year’s contestants earned our respect for participating in a contest that featured so many quality art pieces and made it so difficult for our three judges to select the winners.”
The winners were announced in a May 4 ceremony at Bishop Museum.
OTHER FINISHERS FROM 1ST DISTRICT
>> Second place: Nayeon Gil, grade 10, Maryknoll High School, with her drawing titled, “Consequence, What’s Next?” Her submission will be displayed in U.S. Rep. Ed Case’s office in Washington, D.C., for one year.
>> Third place: Kailee Umaga-Silva, grade 12, Farrington High School, for her photograph titled, “Will I Ever Be Seen?” The photo will be displayed in Case’s Honolulu office for one year.
>> Honorable mentions: Rachael Kim, grade 11, Mid-Pacific Institute, “Backstage”; and Dane Nishizaki, grade 12, Kalani, “Ulua from the ‘Aina.”
