Sparking change through ecological art

Environmental issues loom large in today’s world and many artists have responded by highlighting these concerns in their work. From using natural materials such as rocks, leaves, soil and branches in land art to extensive documentative and performative photography and videos, artists are increasingly sparking a dialogue around climate change and environmental decay. With monumental sculptural installations and other media, artists are ensuring that their voices are heard and that there is greater awareness regarding the relationship between humans and nature and its implications in the long term.

Olafur Eliasson is well-known for his large-scale installations that represent environmental concerns. He often employs unconventional materials such as light, water, and air temperature to create an atmospheric ambience and an immersive experience for the viewers, which helps emphasise the fragility of the environment. One of his projects, ‘Ice Watch’ (2014-18), in collaboration with geologist Minik Rosing, was a series of temporary installations made of blocks of glacial ice installed in a public space, in several cities — Copenhagen in 2014, Paris in 2015 and London in 2018. Placed in a clock formation, the simple yet powerful work with melting ice, served as a reminder of the urgency of the climate crisis. The installation in Paris coincided with the UN Climate Change Conference held there, and subsequently in 2019, Eliasson was appointed as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Action.

‘Roots’ is another striking work by Ai Weiwei, a series of large sculptures in iron, which were cast from the massive roots of Brazil’s endangered Pequi Vinagreiro tree. The project accentuated the delicate ecological balance in the region, which has been upset by widespread deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, and has resulted in irreparable damage to the indigenous peoples as well.

Global warming, deforestation, pollution in rivers and oceans, loss of natural habitat for indigenous flora and fauna, and impending extinction are just some of the vast range of environmental issues that are of immediate concern and are being expressed through the lens of artists.

For instance, closer home, rivers are increasingly facing pollution, impacting the entire ecosystem. Several artists such as Ravi Agarwal and Atul Bhalla have represented these issues through their multidisciplinary art practice, and by adopting the river Yamuna as a critical example. ‘Alien Waters’ (2004-2006) by Ravi Agarwal portrayed a series of photographs of the polluted river and its impact on the livelihood of many. In 2005, Atul Bhalla showed ‘I Was Not Waving but Drowning’, a photographic series where he immersed himself in the Yamuna. The gradual process of immersion accompanied by a diminution of clarity and a blurring of facial details indicated a loss of identity as a direct consequence of environmental pollution.

Artists are increasingly using trash and recycled material to highlight the overconsumption of plastic and the irresponsible dumping of waste in rivers and oceans. Arunkumar H G, known for his ecologically sensitive art, created an enormous installation ‘Droppings and the Dam(n)’ for the Sculpture by the Sea event in Denmark in 2015. The brightly coloured installation was made entirely out of 70,000 bottle tops collected from various cities across the world. Parvathi Nayar’s ‘Wave’, an art installation with sound, was fashioned out of trash in 2018, and it was a recreation of the Japanese artist Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave’. It was built completely out of plastic waste dropped off by residents in Chennai. Artist Veer Munshi presented the tragic aftermath of the 2014 floods in Jammu and Kashmir in the form of a monumental installation — a toppled-over traditional Kashmiri house.

Art can be a potent reminder of ecological precariousness, and while it creates awareness, it can also be a catalyst for action — both at the individual and policy level.

Dab Hand is your art world lowdown. The author is a Bengaluru-based art consultant, curator and writer. She blogs at Art Scene India.