We often turn to artists, writers, and thinkers to help us make sense of our surroundings and the times we live in, and to envision the future we could create. They lead the way, drawing our attention to the most pressing concerns of the day and our hopes for a better tomorrow.
Their art can be a catalyst, encouraging people to take action and make changes in their lifestyles. Here in Greater Sudbury, we have a strong tradition of ecological art, which dates back to the 1960s and 1970s. It addresses politics, culture, economics, ethics and aesthetics, as well as the impacts these factors have on ecosystems.
Eco art has become an important tool for environmental awareness and activism, promoting conservation and encouraging connection and participation. Its practitioners include artists, scientists, philosophers and activists, who often collaborate on projects.
A great example is the Uts’am Witness Project, which aligns with Action 83 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as a creative collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, resulting in the protection of sacred land.
The field of eco art is dynamic and growing, as artists explore issues like environmental sustainability, climate change, waste, social issues, bio remedial practices and expanding relationships with nature. They use materials that are local, natural, organic, recycled or upcycled, scavenged, foraged or salvaged, and renewable, and work in a variety of media, including sculpture, painting, photography, performance and community-engaged arts.
Work from these local artists promotes appreciation for the natural world, raises awareness about ecological problems, and inspires change by drawing attention to environmental justice.
Sources of inspiration
Since June 2024, an exhibition dedicated to exchanging eco art practices in Northern Ontario, supported by the Ontario Arts Council, has been unfolding at Manidoo Bineshii Dreams, a collective art and food sovereignty space on Atikameksheng Anishnawbek.
Featuring three diverse artists—Alana McLeod, Sophie Leblanc and Jayden Ode’imin—the exhibition, titled Wind’s Damp Song for the Soil + Other Contemplations on Ecological Justice, has been co-curated by Elyse Portal and Manidoo Bineshiinh. Foundational to the project has been an ethic of care for the Earth, artists and curators.
This spring, the public will be invited to see how the winter has transformed Sophie LeBlanc’s Greenhouse Boreal installation, ecoprinted from dogwood, bunchberry and sweet ferns, and the many hands, across generations, that attended her community-engaged ecoprinting workshops. LeBlanc, who has a longstanding relationship with Manidoo Bineshii Dreams, where she learned to ecoprint, decided to leave her installation up indefinitely to see how it transforms over the seasons. To see more about the unfolding of this exhibition, including updates for public events and the work of all three artists, please find them on Instagram @windsongecoart.
Thinking about the life cycles of materials has been at the heart of Elyse Portal’s curatorial and artistic practice for two decades. Reciprocal foraging is integral to her work, namely the guidelines put forward by one of her mentors, Tilke Elkins. Elyse is currently working on several new projects funded by the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts, which involve researching the pigments found within the Sudbury Basin in plants, soils, clays and rocks, and the impacts of historical smelter pollution on these colours.
Some of these projects are collaborations of ee portal, the ecological art collective of Elyse Portal and Emilio Portal. Emilio Portal is a transdisciplinary sound artist, who digs deep into his ancestral pasts to honour ancient or forgotten worldviews. ee portal offers a space to engage with intangible issues such as the Anthropocene and the 6th Mass Extinction. One of the projects they are most excited about is called sounds are pigments are places, which will be published by flask publishing and disseminated into special collections, including at the National Gallery of Canada.
Kim Fahner
Writer, Ecopoetry
KimFahner.com
Kim loves reading and writing ecopoetry and was the Poet Laureate for the City of Greater Sudbury from 2016 to 2018. Her latest poetry collection, The Pollination Field, will be published in spring 2025.
“The Pollination Field is a series of ‘bee poems’ that I’ve been working on since 2020 or so,” says the author. “Throughout the collection, there are various incarnations of a ‘queen bee’ figure that is a metaphor and symbol of female transformation at mid-life. ”
“Many of the poems in the book are ecopoems in that they touch on the ways in which humans impact the natural world. Bees—and the many other pollinators that make their appearances in the book as well—are one of the many creatures that warn us of how human actions threaten various species to be either at risk or to become extinct. ”
“People who have read my previous two collections, which focused on birds and oceans (and other aspects of water), will find that The Pollination Field now continues to explore the ways in which the wellbeing and health of the Earth—with its many creatures—is crucial to our collective survival.”
Purchase a copy of The Pollination Field directly from Turnstone Books, from one of Fahner’s favourite small, independent Canadian bookstore, the Biblioasis Bookshop or from Indigo.
Fahner is also an editor for the UK-based science poetry journal Consilience. “If there are other ecopoets out there, please feel free to check out the journal and perhaps submit some of your work online” she says.
Cassidy McAuliffe
Photographer, Videographer and Artist
CassidyMcAuliffe.com
Cassidy documents climate change in Greater Sudbury through art and photography.
"The first eco-art or environmental-related art piece I made was back in 2009 in my high school art class. I've always been really interested in environmental issues and visual art, so naturally, it led me to combine the two. I've been dabbling in eco-art projects ever since. I think growing up in a rural area, my mom's environmental consciousness and my gramma's encouragement to be creative all had a big influence on me."
"I would say eco-art is important for a multitude of reasons:
- For the maker, it is a great way to express yourself, a method of coping with feelings around the climate crisis or environmental issues you care about.
- Environmental issues and topics can be very complex, and eco-art can help communicate in a more accessible way. It can be beautiful, engaging and interesting - which can reach people.
- I think eco-art has the ability to help us envision the climate-resilient and just community we want to live in."
Vale Living With Lakes Centre
Laurentian University
840 Ramsey Lake Road
Artist Sam Barry painted this gorgeous mural on the windows of Vale Living With Lakes Centre at Laurentian University, with the goal of helping to reduce bird strikes. Painted in white so it is more visible to the birds, the images include a crane, an eagle and a loon, acknowledging the bird clans of this region. Funding for the project was provided through the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury’s Project Impact and the Environmental Sustainability Committee at Laurentian University.
If you’re interested in trying your own hand at eco-art, here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Create a collage: Collect leaves, flowers, stones, sticks and other natural materials to depict a scene from nature.
- Make art from recycled objects: Use cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, paper tubes and containers to create.
- Try painting with plant-based dyes and non-toxic paint
- Make your own window art to prevent bird strikes! Space markings two inches apart on the exterior of the glass to be most effective (you can get a washable, white grease pencil from the Nickel Refillery).
Learn more about the City of Greater Sudbury and its commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and helping the community achieve its net-zero goal by 2050.
If you have a project you’d like the City to highlight, contact Jennifer Babin-Fenske at [email protected].
RESOURCES
- ECO Art - artterra
- Artists for Climate Awareness
- Beam Paints – Vegan, Eco-Friendly and Indigenous Handmade
- CHEMISTRY + CRAFT