Art and Nature
Art and Nature
Art and nature explore the relationship between artistic practice and the natural world, with artists responding to landscapes, ecosystems, materials and environmental processes. Artists work with natural environments in different ways, from creating site-specific installations to collaborating with living systems and using technology to reveal environmental change. Nature can become a subject, material, site, or active participant in the creative process.
Explore how artists work with nature and create experiences that connect audiences with natural environments.
How do contemporary artists work with nature?
Contemporary artists work with nature as a subject, material, environment, and source of creative processes. Across Creating New Spaces, Georgie Friedman embraces unpredictable physical processes, Yizhen Li works with the imagery and material qualities of lava, and Joel Zika draws on natural environments to create immersive experiences. Other artists engage with forests, glaciers, environmental data and energy systems. These approaches allow artists to explore natural processes and environmental change while creating experiences that encourage audiences to perceive the natural world in new ways.
How can artists collaborate with natural environments?
Artists can collaborate with natural environments by allowing the characteristics and processes of a place to influence how an artwork develops. Keith Armstrong approaches forests as active participants rather than simply locations for artworks, allowing ecological relationships to shape his creative practice. Theresa Schubert’s Glacier Trilogy develops through residencies and engagement with glacial environments, while Nigel Helyer collaborates with scientists to work with environmental research and data. In these practices, observation, research, and responsiveness can replace the idea of the artist having complete control over the final outcome.
How can technology change the way audiences experience nature through art?
Technology can reveal, translate and reinterpret aspects of nature that audiences might not otherwise perceive. Artists use environmental data, sound, light, projection, sensors and digital systems to create new ways of encountering natural processes. Nigel Helyer transforms scientific and environmental data into sensory experiences, while Andrey Shibanov and Khristina Ots explore connections between nature and technology. Works by Harvey Moon, Joel Zika and Amalie Solande similarly use technology to reshape experiences of natural forms and environments, creating connections between physical landscapes and mediated artistic experiences.
