Barrier

William Xu (12)

Colored Pencil and Acrylic 2024-2025

Barrier reflects the teenage struggle of social isolation. It features teenagers with dull, unwelcoming expressions in a dull world. However, their chests are cracked open to reveal their inner worlds as colorful and bright, contrasting the outside world. In each teen, a blurry figure symbolizing the teen’s inner self is trying to break the barrier of the body to reach the real world, suggesting that teens are in reality craving for social connections despite appearing antisocial.