There are moments in art when the canvas seems to breathe, to speak, to remember—and The Earth is My Witness: Part 1 by Elizabeth Lahey is one of those moments. This stunning acrylic and plastic assemblage doesn’t merely depict a fish—it channels a haunting, reverent spirit of life caught between survival and surrender. Selected for the Extinction: Save the Planet – 2025 international smart exhibition by Gallerium, Lahey’s work emerges as a lyrical outcry, an unflinching gaze into the soul of a planet in crisis.

The fish—majestic, luminous, almost holy—locks eyes with the viewer. But this is no passive portrait. It watches us back. It asks the hardest questions without a single word. Shaped with sweeping textures, warm golds, soft corals, and searing scarlets, its surface shimmers with beauty—yet upon closer inspection, fragments of plastic interrupt the serenity. That quiet intrusion is deliberate. It cuts through the illusion. This work is not only about extinction; it is made from the very material driving it.

Emotionally, the painting disarms. The creature before us radiates grace, yet carries the weight of trauma. Lahey reveals a tragic irony—her chosen medium, plastic, is both a vehicle of expression and a symbol of destruction. It’s a painful truth she doesn’t look away from, and neither can we. The work becomes a mirror, reflecting back our daily complicities, wrapped in the allure of color and form.

Anchored in a lifelong practice of Tibetan Buddhism, Lahey invokes the fish not just as subject, but as symbol—an awakened being whose eyes never close. Like the Buddha who first touched the earth and declared, “The Earth is My Witness,” this painting becomes an act of spiritual testimony. It’s an offering to the planet, and a call to consciousness.

Every stroke, every hue, every embedded element contributes to a delicate choreography of intention and contradiction. Soft gradients pulse beside jagged lines; luminous pigments flow into murky undertones; fine anatomical details give way to abstraction. Hexagonal impressions and hints of synthetic collage echo the artificial influence saturating both nature and our creative lives. This is craftsmanship in conversation with conscience.

Lahey, with decades of experience spanning fine art, film, design, and editorial publishing, brings a depth of skill to match the weight of her vision. What she offers here is not simply a painting—it is a reckoning. The Earth is My Witness: Part 1 is a lament, a gesture of devotion, and a challenge to every viewer: to see, to feel, and to remember.

To explore more of Elizabeth Lahey’s poignant and spiritually infused vision, visit her official artist profile on Biafarin.