As climate change continues to impact our planet, raising awareness has become more crucial than ever. Artists worldwide are stepping up, using their creativity to make a difference and champion environmentalism in innovative and inspiring ways. Through installations, sculptures, and other imaginative works, they celebrate nature’s beauty while reminding us why it’s so essential to protect it.
Their art sparks conversations, inspires action, and brings the urgency of environmental protection directly into our lives. In 2024, environmental art flourished, with countless powerful pieces emerging. We’ve put together a roundup of some of our favorite works from this especially inspiring year.
Here are the top environmental artworks of 2024.
Alluvia by Jason deCaires Taylor
Award-winning sculptor, environmentalist, and photographer Jason deCaires Taylor has been creating underwater installations for the past 17 years. He’s submerged over 1,200 living artworks throughout the world’s oceans that often create a habitat for marine life whilst illustrating humanity’s fragility.
Taylor’s 2024 installation, Alluvia, portrays a serene female figure “sleeping” beneath the surface of the River Stour in Canterbury, Kent. Drawing inspiration from John Everett Millais’ iconic painting Ophelia—depicting the Shakespearean character—this sculpture is crafted from recycled glass, LEDs, and marine-grade stainless steel. Alluvia not only captivates with its ethereal nighttime glow, created by internal lighting, but also with its practical function: integrated environmental sensors that monitor river conditions in real time. This work replaces an earlier installation that was damaged during river dredging several years ago.
“The title Alluvia refers to the alluvial deposits of sand left behind by the rise and fall of the river’s water levels,” says Taylor. “The figure’s posture responds to the river’s flow, reflecting both its ceaseless movement and the invisible barrier of water—like being trapped behind a window.”
Carbon Phoenix by Benjamin Von Wong
Artist Benjamin Von Wong is renowned for his impactful art that sheds light on environmental issues. On August 1, 2024, coinciding with Earth Overshoot Day, he unveiled a striking 20-foot-tall phoenix sculpture, titled Carbon Pheonix, in Ratchaburi, Thailand, that was made entirely from biochar.
Biochar, a carbon-rich charcoal created from organic waste or biomass through low-oxygen combustion, is celebrated for its soil-enhancing properties. It boosts soil nutrient retention, improves water filtration, and supports beneficial microbial life, making it an invaluable tool for sustainable agriculture.
Von Wong’s Carbon Phoenix symbolizes the average person’s annual carbon footprint—four tons. Collaborating with local bamboo farmers and biochar producers Wong Phai, he brought to life a tangible representation of carbon impact, inspiring awareness and dialogue around sustainability.
The collaborators came together over two weeks to create this stunning installation. The phoenix’s feathers are made from biochar bricks, which are crafted from bamboo offcuts—waste materials from the construction industry that would usually be burned or left to decompose, releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere. By using these offcuts, Wong and the team turned what would have been waste into something beautiful, while also helping to capture carbon and raise awareness about sustainability.
Ocean Sole
Every year, a staggering 3 billion pairs of flip-flops are produced, and some reports suggest that over 200 million of these sandals are discarded each year. These throwaway shoes are typically non-biodegradable, which means they can sit in landfills and oceans for hundreds of years. However, fortunately, there’s one group who is turning other peoples’ trash into treasure.
Ocean Sole, an organization based in Kenya, leads beach and waterway clean-ups to collect discarded flip-flops. They then give the discarded sandals a second life by transforming them into vibrant sculptures with the help of local communities.
The team at Ocean Sole can produce up to 15 small sculptures daily, or two to three larger ones each week. Many of their 2024 flip-flop art creations depict endangered species, aiming to raise awareness about conservation. They’ve also crafted practical items such as bottle openers and doorstops. “Each piece is unique based on the materials collected,” says Mwakiremba. “The locals benefit significantly from selling the plastic waste to us, especially during the rainy season when flip-flops are more abundant.”
The environmental impact of their work is also significant. “Our goal is to recycle 1 million flip-flops each year, reuse over a ton of styrofoam every month, and save more than 500 trees annually by replacing wood with flip-flops,” the company states on its website. “We also allocate 10-15% of our revenue to support beach clean-ups, vocational training, and conservation efforts.”
Secret Garden by Ian Berry
Photo: Graham Lacdao
London-based artist Ian Berry transforms discarded denim into one-of-a-kind artworks, crafting installations, portraits, and landscapes that encourage reflection on our relationship with nature and waste. His 2024 installation at London’s Garden Museum, titled Secret Garden, showcased denim’s surprising versatility and potential for innovation.
Berry created a peaceful, immersive scene featuring a fish pond, flowers, and vines—all meticulously created from recycled jeans. The incredible exhibition invited viewers to reconsider the creative possibilities of everyday materials and highlighted the artistic possibilities found in sustainability.
Large Nature Model: Coral by Refik Anadol
Photo: UN Photo/Loey Felipe
Artist Refik Anadol harnesses AI technology to create immersive narratives on environmental conservation. His 2024 exhibition, Large Nature Model: Coral, showcased at the United Nations headquarters, highlights the vital importance of coral reefs. Anadol trained his algorithm on an astonishing 100 million images of coral reefs, generating abstract, dynamic visuals to mesmerize viewers with vivid colors and fluid transformations.
Timed to open during the General Assembly’s high-level week, the exhibition resonated with world leaders convened to tackle pressing global issues, underscoring the need to protect these delicate ecosystems.
Land Art by Jon Foreman
Wales-based artist Jon Foreman chooses to celebrate the natural beauty of our world through his land art installations. He explores outdoor areas near his home, collecting rocks, leaves, and other natural materials that he then arranges into intricate formations. From Golden Ratio-like spirals to complex mandalas, each temporary installation reveals the creative possibilities of nature.
Among Foreman’s standout installations in 2024, Convexum Fluxus at Freshwater West beach involved six hours of meticulous stone arrangement, with the patient artist carefully positioning stones of various sizes across the sand. Throughout the year, Foreman dedicated himself to crafting countless, intricate formations on sand, forest floors, and even tree trunks.
Foreman’s installations demand careful planning and meticulous setup, yet the meditative process offers him a profound sense of calm. His art embodies the concept of impermanence: pieces are washed away by rain, swept away by waves, or slowly eroded over time. For Foreman, this fleeting nature is integral to his work. He views land art as “a truly pure form of letting go,” embracing its transient beauty as a reflection of nature’s cycles.
The Garden by Clare Celeste
Brazil-born, Berlin-based artist Clare Celeste uses immersive art installations as a form of environmental activism. She creates immersive, 3D compositions using hand-cut images of various foliage and animals, creating delicate spaces that encourage viewers to treat nature with care.
Celeste’s 2024 installation, The Garden, celebrates the breathtaking diversity of Earth’s eight major ecosystems. Visitors are fully immersed in a world crafted from intricate paper cutouts of butterflies, birds, and palm leaves, creating an enchanting display of nature’s richness. The installation is designed to inspire a deep appreciation for the planet and a commitment to its preservation.
“We’ve forgotten that we breathe the breath of trees, that we’re part of a larger carbon cycle, that we are embedded within ecosystems,” says Celeste. “We have this illusion of separateness that is driving our ecological crisis. I believe in the power and art and storytelling to reawaken a connection to our planet. By immersing audiences in the splendor of nature’s intricate beauty, I hope to inspire a deeper reverence for the Earth and a commitment to its preservation.”
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