Peninsula teenager's artwork placing spotlight on gun violence displayed at U.S. Capitol
Picking the perfect typeface for a design takes time and a discerning eye - especially for a graphic artist bringing a vision with a deeper meaning to life.
It's a vision that Lauren Cheng, a recent graduate of Burlingame High School, hopes will make people think and ultimately lead to change.
"I don't think that my generation, or future generations, should have to feel this fear," she said.
Using a combination of analog and digital mediums, Cheng created a piece called "646." The poster shows 646 red dots, the words 'please, no more victims,' the number 646, and a QR code.
"The art is advocating against gun violence," she said. "Each dot represents a mass shooting that happened in the year 2022. Each mass shooting represents a shooting that involved four or more victims, not including the shooter."
Cheng hasn't lived through gun violence herself. However, she has grown up with the reality of gun violence in America. Being an empathetic person, who's grown up with active shooter drills, has only increased her desire to see change.
"When I was in first grade, Sandy Hook happened. Those victims were first-graders," she said. "When you're doing drills, you start to visualize it more in your head."
Her art may have the opportunity to bring about change. Cheng was selected as the winner of the annual Congressional Art Competition, and her piece, "646," will be on display at the U.S. Capitol for a year.
"It's going to be in a hallway where lawmakers are walking through, the public is walking through, people from other countries are walking through - I think in that case, it'll be the most powerful," she said. "I hope it reaches people who need to hear it most and then from there, the conversations can be held."
Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) says he is proud to showcase her work.
"It is the ultimate conversation starter, I think, when people see the incredible piece by Lauren," he said. "I knew immediately that it was something that I wanted to share with my colleagues, and the thousands of people from across this country and across the world, really."
Mullin says he was impressed by all of the contestants and will be displaying the second- and third-place finishers' artwork in his San Mateo office. But Cheng's artwork made a strong impression on the congressman.
"Getting people to stop, look, and think, about the prevalence of this challenge in America - it's a uniquely, unfortunately, uniquely American challenge," he said. "I do think it's an opportunity to educate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about the prevalence of gun violence in America."
Cheng's piece doesn't demand a specific solution and that is intentional. She hopes it will make people stop and think, even if only for a moment, about the reality that gun violence can and does happen in communities from coast to coast.
"If people were to say that, Burlingame is super safe, this isn't going to happen - you never know if it's going to happen," she said. "Also, that's kind of part of the issue as to why we're not achieving change in our country - because if you just think it's going to happen to other people and not yourself, then people are less likely to want to help create a collective change."