These artists are using unique mediums to shed light on environment issues

An artist is a sensitive personhellip If a sensitive person doesnrsquot feel who willrdquo asks Kulpreet Singh a Patialabased visual artist whose series Indelible Black Marks highlights the effects of the stubble burning practice in the farmlands of PunjabSinghrsquos series conceptually reflects on the permanent black marks carved onto our ecosystem through practices farmers have been forced to take up He dragged massive canvases through the burning fields in his homeland allowing the stubble to leave impressions like scars on the earth The series was also showcased at the JSW Earth Care Awards 2025 in MumbaiSpeaking about his work Sangita Jindal chairperson of JSW Foundation says ldquoRecognising him through the Earth Care Awards is a reminder that addressing climate change is not just about science and technology it is about empathy creativity and collaboration across all walks of liferdquoKulpreet Singhrsquos Indelible Black MarksWhile artists have often used their canvases for activism the environmental crisis and messages about climate change are increasingAt Nature Morte the contemporary art gallery that sits inside the historic Dhanraj Mahal in Colaba Vibha Galhotrarsquos works are on show A visual artist known for her environmental themes Galhotrarsquos solo exhibit titled Solastalgia The Weight in the Air focuses on the distress caused by environmental changesSome steps away in Kala Ghoda Method art galleryrsquos Nature of Us a group exhibition explores the paradoxical relationship between humans and the environmentWhy are we seeing the art world speak of the environment crisis so much Founder and curator of Method Sahil Arora says ldquoGrowing up in a city like Mumbai lsquonaturersquo is almost a foreign concept Wersquove lived quite removed from it itrsquos never been deeply integrated into my life I think because of this distance it felt like a theme worth exploringrdquoGalhotra began exploring ecological themes after she realised around 2009 that the stinky drain she crossed daily was the heavily polluted Yamuna once a cherished part of her childhood She began photographing it and subsequently she met a man who had come for a holy dip ldquoI tried to stop him telling him it was like a cesspool but he went aheadrdquo she says This prompted her to use the muck from the riverbed on her canvasesAt Nature of Us you see a host of expressions of the environment Kolkatabased artist Jit Chowdhuryrsquos Urban Soul uses Bengalrooted materials like shola Indian cork or pith natural indigo and recycled paper to depict the concrete jungle overtaking our lives where nature is a getaway not a given ldquoIrsquom trying to show the city as soulless and I tend to show less of nature almost none in my work mdash as a slap that we are losing itrdquo he explainsUrban Soul VI an artwork by Jit ChowdhuryBarodabased Keerti Poojarsquos watercolours explore human rituals with nature while Delhibased Prasoon Poddarrsquos tea kettle series honours everyday conversations and urges us to pause reflect and reconnect with natureExplaining why it is crucial to depict environmental themes Poddar says ldquoEarlier elders had rituals and stories which didnrsquot allow you to cut a banyan or a peepal tree Either it was because of God or because a spirit was believed to reside in the tree Whatever the reason it made us leave trees as they are and not chop them down We donrsquot have that any morerdquoldquoArt after all has a unique way of reaching us While data and reports can inform it is often a painting a performance or an installation that moves us to actrdquo says Jindal It almost seems like an artist cannot simply be an artist any more and environmental changes have pushed them to the edge Many have turned activists too But Chowdhury says itrsquos not new ldquoWe are the voices Every sector every group plays different roles We are the vocal cordsrdquo For most putting out such messages in their art is not about raising awareness Itrsquos simply a way to question reflect and to push audiences to reflect as well So will art ever bring about behavioural changeChowdhury says that design and art always play with emotions ldquoIt has happened with the national flag Nowhere is it written that you have to get goosebumps looking at the flag yet people do throughout the world People are moving mountains looking at that design If I take that as a piece of design itrsquos one of the loudest designs ever maderdquoSingh cites Picassorsquos Guernica as an example of art activism This antiwar painting was a response to the bombing of Guernica in northern Spain during the Spanish Civil War and reportedly caused world leaders to pause and reconsiderHowever Singhrsquos work has helped prevent violence as well During the farmersrsquo protest he staged a performance called Stone Pelting where farmers threw stones mdash first rubbed on carbon paper mdash onto cloth to create impressions ldquoI then showed it to the farmers explaining to them that if the protest turned violent it would be of no use If they resorted to pelting they would have already lostrdquo he says Later children at the Tikri border who had participated told him ldquoHum stone pelter toh nahi banengey we will not become stone peltersrdquoDoes this mean galleries can be a place of learning and conveying messages Arora says they could but adds ldquoI wouldnrsquot say anything is a galleryrsquos responsibility to address or not Every gallery and curator creates exhibitions that speak to them Besides even if we see 100 shows addressing environmental issues are we going to make any tangible difference Probably not Does that also mean galleries should avoid environmental issues Not at allrdquoatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params