This image was created by Mario Sánchez Nevado and it is apart of his Aegis collection.  This image uses many elements to portray how modernism’s pollution is endangering the beauty of the world.  Such elements like value, colors and shapes are used by Sánchez to help his message come across to the viewer.  By looking at the value, colors, and shapes, we see how pollution and other toxins are endangering our world’s essence, which tells us that Sánchez is wanting us to realize how we are putting in jeopardy, not only nature, but ourselves. (Sánchez)

One aspect Sánchez uses to get his message across to the viewer is value.  “Value refers to the visible lightness or darkness of a color.” (Essak) The appearance of the darkness surrounding light signifies how pollution is slowly taking away the light, or life, of the world.  The light is mainly focused on the feminine character, Mother Nature, which expresses nature as being the protagonist of the image.  The light color is mainly white, which can stand for purity, peacefulness, and cleanliness, whereas the darkness, which is mainly different shades of black, can represent darkness, sadness, death, destructions, and generally anything bad, like pollution.  And as seen in the image, the source of all of the darkness is coming from the city on top of the gun.  From this, it can be determined that the darkness is representing the pollution being released from all the modern cities in today’s world.

Another key element which Sánchez uses is color.  Colors such as green, brown, purple, and blue, which are portrayed on Mother Nature.  Green can symbolize growth and nature, which can suggest that she is being symbolized as the growth and prosperity of Earth in a positive effect.  Another color used a lot on her is brown.  Brown can convey life, which can imply that Mother Nature is life. Other colors used, but not as frequently, are purple and blue which could have been added to sum up the meaning of Mother Nature and how Sánchez wants this character to be portrayed, or seen.  Purple can be seen in view of Mother Nature as being injured, or purple can also represent the sereneness that nature brings to the world. And blue can express how sad she feels in being in a threatening situation.  Blue can also signify cleanliness, which comes with nature when it is undisturbed by contaminates; pollution.  So through the usage of bright colors, Sánchez is able to express to the audience what Mother Nature is supposed to be viewed as: growth, cleanliness, injury, etc.

In contrast to the bright and lively colors used to depict Mother Nature, dark and other colors that convey a negative influence are used to illustrate the hand holding the cocked gun; such colors used are black, grey, red, orange, and yellow.  Black can symbolize death, for this it can be said that the cocked black gun is threatening Mother Nature with death.  Another depiction of the usage of the color black is that black can indicate power, which can be said that we have when it comes to the outcome of nature.  In this picture though, it is expressed that we are using such power in a negative aspect; the hand is pointing a gun at the feminine character, who is representing the Earth’s nature.  Another color used is gray, which can express our confusion on how to use our power when it comes to the subject of our planet’s well-being.  The color used on the lips on the tip of the gun is red.  Red could have been used to display that the lips represent danger to Mother Nature.  Orange and yellow are displayed on the hand holding the cocked gun, instead of being displayed on the cocked gun like the last three colors.  Orange can depict caution, whereas yellow can mean sickness. This sickness could be coming from us trying to obtain as much power as we can, which is destroying us and threatening the world.  Hence, Sánchez uses these darker colors when portraying the gun with the hand, so that it would be quite obvious to the viewer that the gun with the hand is the antagonist of the image.

The shapes of the image can make one feel like it is trying to describe how the human species has the power to control the gun, which in this picture, symbolizes the city and how the human species are constructing all these buildings and not taking into consideration the damage that is being done to Mother Nature. In the photo, the shape of the trigger of the gun makes it look like the gun is already cocked to kill Mother Nature; however, on the tip of the gun one can see the shape of red lips, as though it wants to kiss her, but betrays her at the same time. Or maybe, unconsciously, the human species does not mean to hurt Mother Nature.  The human race desires more power without even having the thought of the damage that is taking place.  The human society who holds the gun (irregular shape) does not want to kill Mother Nature because the human race loves Mother Nature for all she has done, but the human race is out of control. The world is becoming polluted, as one can see the dark surroundings above the buildings. Also, the hand holding the gun seems to have different shapes of hot spots from where it’s burning and deteriorating because not only are we harming Mother Nature but we are also harming ourselves and are not really aware of it. 

The rainfall (organic shape) is depicting how Mother Nature is slowly dying and saddened by how humanity is taking advantage of her.  The shape of the rainfall falling down her face could symbolize how she is crying about the destruction we are causing and making the world a contaminated place.  Mother Nature continues to gives us life and we continuously threaten to kill her.  In the photo you can also see how the birds seem to flee or are trying to figure out how to survive or adapt to the new world that is being formed by humans to make everything more modern. There are also animals, trees, flowers, plants, etc., which are considered to be organic shapes, that are also at risk of dying if Mother Nature is dying, too. You can see how the artist tilts the trees as though they are about to fall off representing death of nature. Mother Nature is their supply of food and water and humans are taking that away. 

By using these three elements: value, color, and shape, Sánchez is hoping to help the viewer (the human race) to realize that we are damaging the very world that we love.  Value expresses what is good in the world, Mother Nature, and what is causing destruction, our polluting way of life, by the lightness or darkness surrounding certain objects in the visual. Color shows that the viewer can put human traits to certain objects in the image, and by doing so, become more intimate with what the image is portraying.  Shapes were used so that the viewer can see objects, that can be seem in everyday life, with deeper meaning.  Sánchez uses these elements to express that we are killing Mother Nature, and by doing so, killing ourselves and everything we hold dear in this world.  
