Earth Day 2025: Ten Artists Confront Climate Crisis Through Landmark Environmental Works

In anticipation of Earth Day 2025, Aesthetica Magazine showcases ten modern artists tackling environmental issues. In 2014, Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing placed twelve ice blocks from Greenland in Copenhagen's City Hall Square, which were later exhibited in Paris during COP21 and at Tate Modern. Jason deCaires Taylor established Museo Atlántico, the first underwater art museum in Europe. Mandy Barker's Soup series highlights the plastic pollution resulting from the 1992 Evergreen Ever Laurel spill. Fabian Oefner visualizes glacier retreat for Google Arts & Culture, while Edward Burtynsky's Water series documents the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. Tomás Saraceno works with Indigenous communities on carbon-neutral initiatives. John Akomfrah's 2019 video Purple explores climate change effects. Sharbendu De captures New Delhi's air pollution through photography. Agnes Denes will unveil The Living Pyramid at Desert X 2025, and Nick Brandt's underwater portraits in Fiji emphasize rising sea levels. These artistic responses come in light of the record heat and over 150 climate-related disasters in 2024.