Rebecca Louise Law, Florilegium, Dried Flowers, 2020
The protection of the environment is an important issue that is closely related to the destiny of mankind. In life, many industries put great pressure on ecology, and artistic creation is no exception. But some artists create from garbage, natural plants and recycled materials to reduce pollution to the environment. Today, Harper's Bazaar Art has an inventory of ten eco-friendly artists dedicated to creating from discarded materials.
01 Rebecca Louise Law
Rebecca Louise Law
British installation artist Louise Law is known for her use of natural materials and for creating eco-friendly artworks. She uses dry and fresh plant materials to create specific art installations that create an immersive viewing experience that explores the relationship between humans and nature.
Rebecca Louise Law, The Womb, Dried Flowers, 2019
Its installations, often composed of thousands of dried flowers, hang from the ceiling, evoking a sense of natural beauty and melancholy. When the audience slows down and blends into the surrounding environment, they can't help but feel a sense of tranquility. As an eco-friendly artist, she recycles the flowers she uses in her installations around the world, creating a dynamic and multisensory artistic practice that is entirely hers.
Rebecca Louise Law, The Banquet, Dried Flowers, 2019
02 Marina Debries
Marina DeBris
Australian artist Marina Debris is listed as one of the 30 most influential contemporary female artists. She creates art from discarded garbage on the beach, revealing the growing problem of marine litter and human waste habits to raise awareness of marine pollution.
Marina Debries, Disposable Truths, Plastic Caps, 2017
Marina Debries uses worn-out garbage to attract attention in this creative artistic way. She also raises funds for environmental groups and works with nonprofits and schools to educate children about marine pollution. At the same time, the artist also vigorously promotes clean energy, curates ecological art exhibitions, and contributes to the protection of the environment.
Marina Debries, Ballgown, Recycled Toy Balls, 2009
03 Nick Gentry
Nick Gentry
Nick Gentry, a graduate of Central St Martins in London, creates portraits using recycled and discarded materials such as film negatives, VHS cassettes, X-rays and floppy disks. Inspired by Marcel Duchamp's urinal work, he believed that artists should not be limited by materials such as canvases, but could use materials freely and repeatedly.
His work explores the development of consumerism, technology, identity, and cyber culture in society. He was also commissioned by the Barbican Centre to create artwork and raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
Nick Gentry, "Lockdown," Vintage Computer Punch Card, 80×60cm, 2020
Nick Gentry, Profile Number 16, Computer Disk, 169×99cm, 2018
04 Hiroyuki Nishimura
Hiroyuki Nishimura
Japanese sculptor Hiroyuki Nishimura crafts artwork in a sustainable way. He used discarded wood as furniture or building materials and carved them into characteristic shapes. He advocated that artists should not necessarily pursue perfection, but should pay more attention to the overall form. In his work, these deliberate irregularities, cracks and cracks make his work unique. Nishimura raises people's awareness of environmental protection through artistic practice and encourages people to cherish and protect the environment.
Hiroyuki Nishimura, Mr.Tower 2, Wood, 115×18×19cm, 2018
05 Bettina Werner
Bettina Werner
Bettina Werner, the first Italian artist to use salt as an artistic medium and known as the "Queen of Salt", has invented the textured coloring salt technique since the early 1980s and began to create works of art with colored salt. At the same time, Werner also explored different textures and color combinations to create an iconic artistic language.
Bettina Werner, BUTTERFLY- ANGEL SIGN, Colored Salts, 2019
Bettina Werner, "AB OVO", Colored Salt, 2013
In 2002, she founded the Salt Queen Foundation in New York to promote the use of innovative environmentally friendly technologies and unusual materials by artists. His salt works are currently on display at the Whitney Museum in New York, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and in galleries and public spaces around the world.
06 Andy Goldworth
Andy Goldsworthy
British land artist, photographer and environmentalist Andy Goldworth has perfectly interpreted that the best works of art don't have to be timeless. He is well known for his use of natural materials such as rocks, ice cubes, leaves, and other natural materials to create installations in natural and urban environments. Based on nature as a methodology, Andy works with snow and leaves to explore the life cycle of various materials and ecologies, as well as the processes of growth, maturation and disintegration, each of which feels the power of growth, stay and decay.
Andy Godworth's land art
07 Noah Prifoui
Noah Purifoy
Since the late 1980s, African-American visual artist and sculptor Noah Prifouis has been using garbage for art creation and has established an outdoor desert art museum to display works, including nearly 100 large-scale sculpture installations made of discarded building materials and metal. Noah is committed to exploring the environmental impact of industry, pointing out the problems inherent in consumerism: waste and neglect. His artworks made from waste inspire the viewer to think about industrialization and consumerism.
Noah Prifouis, "No Contest (bicycles)," Recycled Building Materials, 426.7×640.1×61cm, 1991
Noah Prifouis, The Carousel, Recycled Building Materials, 1996
08 Oraville Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson
Danish-Icelandic artist Olaver Eliasson is known for creating sculptures and large-scale installations. Inspired by nature, he makes extensive use of natural elements in his works, arousing the audience's awareness of the crisis of the global environment, and drawing attention to issues such as climate change and renewable energy through artistic practice.
Oraville Eliasson, Ice Watch, 2018
Eliasson has a long-standing relationship with Tate Modern in the UK. In 2018, Eliasson extracted 30 pieces of glacial ice from Greenland waters and placed them outside the museum's doors. Spectators put their hands on the ice and watched them melt from ice cubes to water as they witnessed the warming crisis the world was experiencing.
09 Jeff Hun
Jeff Hong
New York-based artist Jeff Hong tried to use fictional characters from Disney animated stories to reflect on the environmental issues people faced. He completely subverted Walt Disney's motto "Where Dreams Come True", combining Disney's most popular cartoon characters with the current environmental crisis.
Jeff Hung animation works
In her work, the viewer can see Princess Elsa grieving over her failure to stop the snow from melting; the mermaid Ariel emerging from a squalid ocean, gasping for breath on the oil-stained beach... Through these popular and controversial images, Jeff uses a witty way to make people reflect on environmental issues.
10
Teruya
Yongxian
Yuken Teruya
An artist from Japan, ordinary paper produces extraordinary visual changes in his hands. Using rudimentary materials such as toilet paper and pizza boxes, he creates a series of visual artworks that explore the connection between mass consumption and forests.
"Golden Arch Parkway McDonald's (blue tree)", paper, 12.7×17.7×28cm, 2005
His works create the image of the tree through paper carving technology and place it in recycled paper bags, presenting a complex three-dimensional model.
His work reflects his strict demands on materials, craftsmanship and the environment. At the same time, he made us aware of the availability of waste materials and reminded the audience of the fragility of ecosystems.
Teruya, "Corner Forest," toilet roll, magnet, metal rod, 2006
The above ten artists reduce environmental pollution and arouse people's awareness of environmental protection through their own unique creative methods. These environmentally friendly artistic creations remind us that protecting the environment is an integral part of life. In your opinion, should artists assume social responsibility for environmental protection? Welcome to leave a message to share your views.
Editor, Wen Liang Wenqing
This article is original by Harper's Bazaar Art Department and may not be reproduced without permission