The Arts and Climate Change

The artists involved in Earth: Art of a changing world work in a variety of different styles and media, and have each brought their own unique interpretation to the problems facing our planet. Some have taken key elements from the natural world, such as earth, water, air and fire, as their starting point, while others have directly confronted the consequences of human behaviour in terms of natural disaster. Despite the alarming facts of climate change, many artists have produced work presenting a world of vision and hope, believing that enhanced awareness of the problems facing the planet will encourage a more caring society.

EARTH: ART OF A CHANGING WORLD ARTISTS
Many of the artists have their own websites or related sites with information about their approaches and attitudes towards connecting art and climate change:

Ackroyd & Harvey, Beuys' Acorns, 2007 onwards. Mixed media, Courtesy of the artists Ackroyd & Harvey
Includes images of the artists’ work involving natural resources, most famously seedling grass. Also explains some of the juxtaposed themes behind the artists’ works, such as Nature and structure, control and randomness.

Edward Burtynsky
Includes links to websites about climate change and information about the artist’s work, which take nature transformed by industry as the main theme.

Chris Jordan
Presents the reasons why the artist has chosen to work with environmental themes such as Hurricane Katrina and the problems caused by mass consumption.

Antti Laitinen
Includes information on the artist’s past exhibitions that have drawn on environmental art, land art and performance art.

Ian McEwan
Features the article ‘The world’s last chance’, The Guardian, 19 November 2008.

David Nash RA
Features an article about the 2009 exhibition at the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo called Melting Ice: A Hot Topic, and discusses the work of David Nash.

Cornelia Parker
Includes the artist’s interview with Friends of the Earth, in which she discusses the role of the artist in tackling climate change.

Tomas Saraceno
Features the artist’s work involving videos taken by thirty-two floating cameras around the world’s largest salt lake. Also includes an interview with the artist.

Semiconductor: Ruth Jarman & Joe Gerhard
Allows you to view the artists’ digital animations, which explore the relationships between time, scale and natural forces.

Sophie Calle
Features a description of the artist’s 2008 expedition to Disko Bay, as part of the Cape Farwell project (see below for more details).

Antony Gormley RA
Includes images of much of the sculptor’s work, much of which interacts with the world and the weather in innovative ways.

Gary Hume RA
Details information on the artist and his links with the Cape Farewell project.

Studio Orta
The website of the artists Lucy + Jorge Orta who look at crucial themes affecting the world today, such as the scarcity of food and water.

Lemn Sissay
The writer’s blog, which describes his journey to the Arctic as part of the Cape Farewell project.

Shiro Takatani
Includes information on the artist’s expedition as part of the Cape Farewell project.

Clare Twomey
Information about an exhibition entitled Blossom, hosted by the Eden Project in December 2007 in collaboration with Cape Farewell.

For a list of all artists involved in GSK Contemporary, Earth: Art of a changing world please click here

ART AND CLIMATE CHANGE WEBSITES

Cape Farewell – Art and Climate Change
Many of the Earth: Art of a changing world artists are involved in the Cape Farewell – Art and Climate Change project, which was begun by artist David Buckland in 2001 to instigate a cultural response to climate change. Since 2003, international groups of artists and scientists, with Arts Council backing, have travelled to the High Arctic to explore the effects of climate change and return with stories and artworks relating to their experiences.

RETHINK: Contemporary Art and Climate Change
A touring exhibition of twenty-six works created by Nordic and international contemporary artists also working in the intersection between art, culture and climate change.

RSA Arts and Ecology
An organisation whose role is to support and publicise artists who are responding to the unprecedented environmental challenges of our era; using artworks to inspire interdisciplinary debate.

EcoArts
An organisation bringing together different groups of people to investigate the realities of climate change and discuss ways of achieving a sustainable future.

• Royal Academy of Arts