Dear Body of Water: Student Art Exhibition

Anonymous, CAS ‘25
2024 
Photograph

This triptych showcases the majesty of Königssee (King's Lake) in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria.

Madeleine Callender, CAS '26
2024
Poem

Image

Ksenia Dubova, SFS ‘25
2019
Photograph

The photo was captured on an extremely hot day in Kyiv, Ukraine, where a group of teenagers sought relief in the cooling water of the Dnipro River. I could not pass them by as they radiated so much joy. After the sunset, the water turned into a stunning golden color, and I thought: this river reflects nature – impacted by change, yet still embracing us.

Katie Shen, CAS '28
2025
Watercolor and ink

As an artist and aspiring molecular biologist, I find inspiration in nature’s evolutionary solutions. Biomimicry applies these mechanisms to solve modern challenges like climate change. In my storybook-style work, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, diverse ecosystems collide in a dreamlike journey. By exploring biomimicry and interconnected ecosystems, we can shift from exploitation to restoration and innovation.

John Matuszewski, SFS ‘25
2023
Digial Photograph

This waterfall was on the property of a cattle rancher in Guacimo, Costa Rica who converted his ranch into an ecotourism attraction at the insistence of his wife. He gradually came to like the idea, and much of his property was reforested as a result. My roommate at the time leaped from a small cliff next to the waterfall into a deep pool below and I captured his jump mid-air.

Caitlin McBride, CAS ‘25
2023
Oil on Canvas

Altitude causes the perception of a higher horizon; from the top of the Iglesia Del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus in Havana, Cuba, the ocean nearly seemed taller than the city. The visibility of the life and buildings in the city brings to mind the life and activity under the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean surrounding Havana.

Stella Vie Peters, CAS '25
2021
Photograph

Traversing 5th Avenue in summer, you never know what you'll find. The MET offers intrigue, but the world lives outside—students, tourists, food stands, taxis, musicians, dancers. The crowd changes each season, infusing life into the city. Heat, movement, and water blend in a living exhibit, where the fountain's aquatic projections bring the museum into the streets. I am exploring our relationship with water as heat changes the nature of summer.

John Matuszewski, SFS ‘25
2023
Digital Photograph

I was working 30 miles by boat or seaplane outside Wrangell, Alaska when I took this photo. The landscape was serene; the temperate rainforest climate meant fog would ceaselessly collect over the inlet in front of my house. On some days, the tides lowered the sea 21 feet, exposing kelp, barnacles, and mussels to the air. Pictured is a boat anchored in the inlet with a juvenile bald eagle overhead.

John Katial, CAS ‘25
2023
Digital Photography

Varanasi is a deeply sacred city. There is an incomprehensible array of spiritual traditions and practices occurring in unison. Pictured are the ancient ghats of Ganga, a Goddess embodied in the river birthed in the Himalaya. Along these ghats, temples and homes are fused together into a chaotic and breathtaking tapestry. Varanasi is where the found go to disappear and the lost go to be found.

Caitlin McBride, CAS ‘25
2023
Acrylic Paint on Canvas

In Minnesota, the majestic "land of 10,000 lakes," each lake provides beauty, peace and home to people, animals and plants alike. Regardless of one's thoughts of normal hitchhikers, the aquatic variety perpetrate the invasion of non-native species that quickly veer lakes into trouble. This lake is painted at rest, a state at which I hope we can continue to maintain it.

Hannah Chu, CAS '27
2023
Watercolor on Paper

The ocean has always been both a lifeline and a quiet presence, giving without asking in return. While it sustains coastal communities, modern life keeps pulling us further away. In a world of distractions, do we still see the water that sustains us? This piece explores how we depend on water, how we overlook it, and how we might begin to notice again.

John Matuszewski, SFS ‘25
2023
Digital Photograph

This picture was taken on Achutupo in Guna Yala Comarca, Panama. With a population density of 15,860 people per square kilometer, it's one of the most densely populated islands in the entire world. Achutupo proves extremely reliant on tourism and fishing. Unfortunately, as a result, the coral reefs around the island are under threat from coral bleaching, coral mining, overfishing, and overtourism

John Katial, CAS ‘25
2024
Digital Photograph

This image was taken in a mangrove thicket in the Florida Everglades. As I raised the camera to capture the morning light filtering through the sinewy branches, large tropical mosquitoes feasted on exposed skin. Sulfuric fumes wafted from the peat-like mud banks. This was juxtaposed with the forest’s stunning beauty and productivity. Mangroves are a nursery for hundreds of fish and seabird species.

Sofia Madden, CAS ’28
2024
Graphic Design

This piece was a project for my graphic design class. We had to make posters with a fact about water; I was inspired by my interest in environmental science, especially the ocean. I wanted to make my fact about rising sea levels to bring awareness to the melting of the glaciers. I believe the intersection of art and science is a great way to convey scientific information to a broader audience.

John Katial, CAS ‘25
2024
Digital Photograph

Taken near Miami, this image carries a double meaning. The smooth blanket of waves depicts the welcoming embrace of the sea. However, the sheer force of a small wave slamming against the granite boulders reminds us that respect is a necessity. The ocean provides vital ecosystem services, yet human actions threaten marine ecosystems. This image is the ocean’s dual message of welcome and warning.

Anonymous, CAS ‘25
2024
Photograph

Swans on the surface of Lake Jarun in Zagreb, Croatia.

Caitlin McBride, CAS ‘25
2023
Stained Glass

The blue crab, or the "beautiful swimmer," is one of many species in the Chesapeake Bay threatened by overharvesting, habitat loss, and water quality changes. Restoring and protecting the bay that houses this species is critical to maintain these ecosystems. My thanks to two friends who made this possible: one, with the crab, and another, with the glass.

Vienna Cheshire
Graphic Design

Kyle Tso
Graphic Design

Ava MacDonald
Graphic Design

Katherine Wijenaike-Bogle

2025
Photography, Fabric

This piece was inspired by Washington D.C.’s “hidden rivers”: the network of rivers that have been buried underneath the streets and buildings of the city. Designer David Ramos of the website Hidden Hydrology created a map estimating the locations of streams that have since been covered by construction. What if we defined Washington D.C. by its rivers and creeks, rather than its buildings and streets? The white applique section represents the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and Rock Creek. In contrast, the hand-quilted stitches represent the ancient rivers that once provided ecosystem services for the human and non-human world. While the white fabric representing the major waterways may be more obvious to the human eye, it is the “hidden rivers” that actually hold the quilt together.

This piece was produced as part of the “Maker in Residence” program funded by Lauinger Library. The physical quilt can be seen on Floor 1 of Lauinger Library, with additional information on the making of the quilt. Visitors are invited to touch the physical quilt! 
 

Katherine Wijenaike-Bogle
2025
Wood

You are welcome to run your fingers along this map! Feel the topography of Washington D.C. and the surrounding regions: at this scale, the hills and rivers become monuments. This map was created by downloading a digital elevation model from the U.S. Geographic Service, which I then converted into a CNC machine file using the software QGIS. Viewers are invited to ponder the contrast between the high-tech tools used to create the wooden map vs. the older techniques used to make the Imagined Rivers quilt. Perhaps, in the future, technology and artisanal traditions can co-create a world where humans and nature thrive next to each other as well. This piece was produced as part of the “Maker in Residence” program funded by Lauinger Library; to see other pieces produced as part of this program, check out the display cases on the fourth and first floor of the library.