The COP26 climate summit took place in November 2021. Global demonstrations have been calling for drastic action to prevent catastrophic global warming. Now has never been a better time to consider our impact on the planet.

As independent agents, artists are in a unique position to respond to the climate crisis.

Aphra Shemza working in the studio. Photography by Claudia Agati
Aphra Shemza working in the studio. Photography by Claudia Agati

“Art is a practice through which vital aspects of society and life may be examined, challenged and renegotiated”

Olafur Eliasson

I see art as a tool through which we can imagine better futures and alternative ways of being.

This article doesn’t advocate for all artists to create work around climate issues. It calls for a seamless integration of a sustainable practice into your own work.

My journey towards a sustainable practice has been an interesting one. Working with art and technology, I am at the forefront of sustainability discourse. Though excited by new developments in technology, my practice questions disposable consumer culture.

A few years ago I began to make changes in the way I was living. I wanted to reduce the amount of waste I put into the world and start a new zero-waste lifestyle. I realised then that my art practice didn’t align with my fundamental values of how I wanted to live my life. I decided that I would have to make some changes. How could I re-evaluate my practice and make sure that I wasn’t contributing more items to the rubbish heap?

In 2019 I secured a Developing Your Creative Practice Grant by Arts Council England. In this supported period, I was artist in residence at a maker space called Building Bloqs. I learnt new techniques for working with materials core to my practice.

I started using reclaimed solid timber and recycling my own plastic waste. I sourced my timber from a local reclaimed supplier. (Saunders Seasonings at Blackhorse Workshop in Walthamstow, London). I worked with a master craftsman who taught me how to take rough sawn timber, plane and thickness it. This allowed me to create new sustainable sculptures.

Aphra Shemza, Plastic recycling. Photograph by Claudia Agati
Aphra Shemza, Plastic recycling. Photograph by Claudia Agati

In the plastic workshop I collected my own plastic waste. I developed different DIY techniques for turning it into sheet material. This imbued non-recyclable material like bubble wrap and plastic bags with a new life. The inspiration came from Netherlands based Precious Plastics. They propose a different open-sourced approach to the local recycling plastic. With these skills, I developed a new series and started to make work about the current climate crisis. This has been a theme for me ever since

A few examples of my works below:

  • Current Climate, 2019. A data visualisation piece that responds live to news headlines from around the world when they mention climate change.
  • Compositions 1-4, 2019 are made from recycled bubble wrap and plastic bags.
  • Ocean Rise, 2021. A mixed reality sculpture that highlights the rise in sea levels due to global warming.
  • Hive Mind, 2021 is a collaboration with third-year Backstage Academy students. This artwork looks at themes of unity and sustainability. It takes influence from the Manchester bee as a symbol for community.

As well as rethinking my materials choices I also delved into the world of the conservation of media art. At the Tate Time Based Media Archive, I learned about preserving the legacy of artworks made with technology.

Rather than remove all technology from my work I continue to incorporate it mindfully. I hope that this will lead to solutions about how nature and technology could exist more harmoniously.

I explored this further in my curated talks event Art in Flux: Radical Ecology . I invited the media artists Ben Eaton (Invisible Flock), Sarah Craske and Frances Disley to discuss their work in relation to the current climate crisis.

Working more sustainably can be challenging at times but there are also benefits.

  • It takes extra time to think, research and plan before you start making.
  • It is harder to work to tight deadlines where you need parts. Sustainable alternatives have longer wait times and can be more expensive.
  • If you are able to create material from your own waste. your material could actually be free.
  • Each project you approach in this way takes you one step closer to a greener practice. This can be its own reward.

So how can you be more sustainable in your own practice?

I have produced a website for artists working with technology. It helps you to be more mindful about sustainable approaches. The site has a lot of in depth research about electronic hardware: www.art-ology.co.uk

The following resources propose ways of thinking about sustainability at the point of idea creation. They are structured around the themes of Materials, Energy, Transport and Conservation.

Materials:

Actions

1. Look at the materials that you need to make your work and create a list.

2. Do some research about each material. How sustainable it is? Give it a score from 1-10. Look at how is it produced? Where and what it is made from? Does it produce fumes? Is it shipped from far away?

3. Once you have your list look at the materials that scored the lowest. Research into more sustainable alternatives. Start switching your materials over.

4. If you can’t swap a material because it is integral to your practice can you source it locally to save on fuel? Or can you work with a local fabricator who has a sustainability policy to make your work?

5. Think about the waste that you create when making the work. If you are working with oil paint can you reuse the tubes to make other works or find another artist who can? Can you donate it to others or recycle at a recycling centre?

Tips

Energy:

Actions

1. Does your work need energy to power it? Can it plug into a green energy supplier at source?

2. If not, write down a list of your components and how much power they consume.

3. Look at how you could reduce consumption and implement this.

Tips

  • Using LED technology? Try 30 LEDs per metre rather than the standard 60 as this cuts down on wattage.
  • Using light? Try reflective materials instead of many light sources.
  • Using electronic devices? Use a timer switch to make sure the equipment turns off overnight.
  • Using projectors or screens? Hire the equipment rather than buy it so that it can be reused.

Transport:

Actions

1. Could your artwork be smaller and so save on transport and materials? Or can it modular so that it can travel light?

2. Can you use a local company to supply your materials?

3. Can you share a van or vehicle with other artists to save on petrol costs

4. Can you use a bicycle courier to get your works from A-B?

Tips

Try any of these more sustainable couriers.

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Conservation:

There has been a lot of research done by museums and institutions about how to conserve an artwork. Artists should consider how their work can be conserved before they make it. It is important to think about conservation because maintaining and repairing an artwork over the course of its lifetime leads to less waste in the long term and makes your work more collectible.

Actions

1. Create a passport of materials that travels with the artwork when sold. This should list all the materials used to make the work. It should include information on what parts are replaceable or irreplaceable from the artist’s point of view.

2. If your work uses electronic or specialised materials, keep a box of spare in case repairs are necessary. You could even consider selling the work with a box of spares that travels with the piece as it changes owners.

3. Think about the lifespan of your work and make a plan for the conservation of that piece with the buyer.

  • If you are a painter you are lucky as your work will need little conservation in your lifetime. Consider your framing. Use UV glass to protect the piece long term. Suggest client avoid hanging work in direct sunlight as it could fade.
  • When making public sculpture create a maintenance agreement. This should outline the plan for looking after that work moving forwards.
  • If you work with Neon this will needs servicing at least every 3 years. Make sure that your clients are aware of this and write this into a point of sale contract. Give repairs for free for a certain period of time. After that charge a reasonable rate to repair them if needed moving forward.

Tip

Collectors want to look after the work they buy. Don’t be afraid to discuss this with your client. Be transparent and do what is best for the artwork.

The climate crisis can feel overwhelming at times. It helps to focus on what CAN rather than what CAN’T be done. If we each look after our own corner of the world then our actions can combine to create the change that we wish to see. Moving towards a more sustainable practice feels great and helps protect our planet. Working together we can create a greener future for current and future generations.

Aphra Shemza is a London-based multimedia artist and curator. She is also co-founder of Art in Flux and Manager of the Estate of Anwar Jalal Shemza (her grandfather).

Inspired by her grandfather, her work explores Modernism, her Islamic cultural heritage, sustainable practice and creating art for all.

As an artist and activist, she finds ambitious ways to fuse methodologies from the past with new innovations in technology to imagine what the role of art could be in the future.

Shemza has recently been awarded an Arts Council England grant for her latest project Ocean Rise which leads on from her 2019 project called ‘Solutions for a Sustainable Art Practice’ where Shemza was awarded a DYCP grant to research sustainable materials.

In 2018 she launched www.art-ology.co.uk, a peer resource for artists who wish to be mindful of their environmental impact.

Her research on sustainability in media arts has been published by the Electronic Visual Arts conference and she has recently contributed an Eco Art chapter to Dorling Kindersley’s The Artist’s Toolkit which will be published later this year.

Shemza exhibits and produces public commissions regularly with partners including V&A, National Gallery X, Canary Wharf Group and Save the Children. This year, Ocean Rise, a large mixed-reality public sculpture made from sustainable materials was commissioned for the Summer Lights Festival in Canary Wharf.