For a time during his junior year, Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Haoran "Henry" Zhang '19 was traveling down a troubled road.
In a sense, he was headed toward an unpleasant destination.
Through his art, however, Henry moved toward a happier place.
Henry's painting titled "The Destination" won a Gold Key Award at this school year's Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, sponsored by The Boston Sunday Globe.
Using acrylic paint, Henry completed the piece in Paul Bloomfield's AP 2D Art class.
Henry was one of four students from WMA to earn recognition. Suqin "Krystal" Li '19 and Tianqi "Wernich" Li '20 both won Silver Key Awards, while Zihan "William" Chen '21 earned a spot on the Honorable Mention list. The list of award recipients was published March 17.
Quotes
Henry on the inspiration of his award-winning work: "Junior year was stressful, with a lot of negative emotions. That's where I got the inspiration. This is not a positive image. It's depressing. There are different people who are walking toward an untouchable end without hope in a dark hallway."
Henry on receiving a Gold Key Award: "It was helpful in my college application, and I was proud of myself."
Mr. Bloomfield on Henry's ability: "Henry is dedicated to pursuing his ideas with depth and ambition, often finding visual expressions that we can all relate to at some point in our lives. He is an intelligent, skillful and brave student, who is not afraid to present us with realities that we tend to stay away from. That is one of the major roles that an artist plays in society."