Photo Challenge #4 | Yellow

After a long dry spell, I finally got a subject that fits the prompt of the day again. Today's prompt was the colour yellow.

I was fortunate enough to be able to go for one of the exhibits organised for Georgetown Festival (GTF). GTF is an annual affair that celebrates the rich culture and heritage that Penang was in years past, and is today.

Hopefully it remains as an exhibit and doesn't become a reality

Sure, the yellow is not the main star of this photo. But I thought it was really good with my intention of making these things thought provoking. (By the way, I don't go round looking for things that are thought provoking before using it as my subject. My brain just has a way of looking at things from a very different perspective to many others. I thought it would be nice to have something to write about besides just sharing pictures).

This particular photo (if I remember the explanation accurately) is symbolising humans' activity of attaching all sorts of things to trees and using it at our disposal with no thought of consequences. I took it from an angle which captured the shadow of the real, live plants, which symbolised the fact that real trees might just be a distant memory if we don't change our ways.

The exhibit was called "A Real Fake Forest". It highlighted what the future might look like if we (humans) didn't control the way we used our resources. The trees were made of cardboard, the leaves on the floor were dead leaves, shadowing what the future might look like - dead trees, fake trees. There were other things stuck on the other "trees" too. The walls and walkways were covered with plastic and wind was blowing them to create the illusion of being in a forest, if the patron covered their eyes. The irony of using the plastic sheets was to show our usage of plastic that might one day cover the whole planet if we don't reduce our usage of single-use plastics, and we may have to resort to synthetic forests to enjoy what once was.

We, humans, were put on this earth to subdue it - not in the manner of exploiting the resources given to us by God, but by being good stewards and looking after the other parts of God's creation. If it's hard for you to understand that concept, think about this: what if you entrusted your money to the bank to help you safekeep it, invest it, help it grow, but all they did was use up your money and betray your trust? That is sort of how it is with us exploiting natural resources, and not caring for the earth.

As a Christian, I am convicted to care for this earth, as it is part of God's creation, and that is our responsibility as humans. I therefore try my very best to reduce the need to buy things unnecessarily. If you know me well, I am very good at restraining from buying stuff on impulse. It takes me a long time to consider the necessity of it and the impact it will have on the environment before I choose to purchase something. There are many small ways for everyone to help. We need to take baby steps first, before moving on to bigger steps. When we all chip in a little, we all benefit.

The six R's of sustainability: reinvent/rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse/repair, recycle, replace/rebuy.

Which of the six R's do you already practice?