Sentient Earth: Art’s Reckoning with Climate Change at Amant

The Sentient Earth exhibition at Amant, a contemporary arts center in Brooklyn, presents installations and multimedia works across two galleries. The title evokes an Earth that feels and responds. The artworks, displayed on reclaimed cork panels, highlight urgent environmental issues.

Since its opening in 2021, Amant has prioritized dialogue over spectacle, a principle evident in Sentient Earth. Curated by Sofia Hernandez Chong Cuy, the exhibition features ten artists and collectives addressing climate change as both an ethical and material challenge. The works engage viewers emotionally while providing critical insights.

One standout piece is Underflow (2023) by Otobong Nkanga. This series of handwoven textiles reflects Nkanga’s research into mining practices in West Africa. Dyed with locally sourced minerals, the textiles evoke geological layers and polluted rivers. Nkanga’s choice of linen over synthetics underscores the significance of materiality in restitution contexts. As Hernandez Chong Cuy stated in an ARTDESENT interview, the work serves as "a meditation on the reparative labour of weaving, set against the violent ruptures of extraction." Nkanga explores the exploitation's impact on both land and human psyche.

The exhibition’s tactile experience continues with Eco Accretions (2022) by Danish collective SUPERFLEX. Known for their playful yet critical interventions, they present ceramic tiles glazed with seaweed ash. Arranged in organic patterns, the tiles evoke coral colonies reclaiming the floor. Developed with marine biologists, this process offers a scalable model for carbon sequestration. Visitors can touch the tiles, which retain the texture of seaweed, reminding them of the ecosystems represented.

While Underflow and Eco Accretions emphasize material transformation, other works in Sentient Earth address representation politics. Carolina Caycedo’s video installation Apparitions of a River (2020) documents the Magdalena River in Colombia through indigenous perspectives, activists, and hydroelectric developers. Projected onto a curved screen, the work deconstructs colonial narratives surrounding dam construction. Community elders’ voices dominate the soundtrack, grounding the visuals in lived experiences.

Caycedo critiques the institutional context as well. She states in the exhibition catalogue, "Art institutions must also reckon with their complicity in extractive economies." Amant has responded by adopting a zero-waste policy for exhibitions and supporting artists in using sustainable materials. Hernandez Chong Cuy confirmed that all shipping crates for Sentient Earth were designed for reuse across multiple shows, an uncommon practice in the industry.

Not all works resonate equally. A projection by Finnish artist Terike Haapoja struggles to engage beyond its conceptual premise. Overlaying thermal imaging on archival footage of endangered species, it gestures at climate interconnectedness but feels didactic compared to its neighbors. Haapoja noted during a September panel discussion, "balancing urgency with subtlety—an impossible line to walk when the stakes are this high."

Despite uneven moments, the exhibition’s strength lies in its collaboration. The closing piece, The Listening Archive (2021) by MAP Office, invites viewers into a geodesic dome covered in seed-paper panels. Inside, headphones play layered field recordings of Amazonian rainforests during deforestation. The seed-paper, embedded with native species, will be distributed to Brooklyn community gardens post-exhibition. This participatory work shifts viewers from passive spectators to potential caretakers, embodying the exhibition's ethos.

Can art stop climate change? Sentient Earth reframes the question. It suggests art’s role is to reshape narratives, forge alliances, and enact micro-scale reparations. The curatorial approach avoids despair without slipping into false optimism. Its strength lies in its focus on the materials—both physical and cultural—that shape our environment. As Hernandez Chong Cuy aptly stated, "Art cannot solve climate change, but it can change the terms of debate."

Sentient Earth runs at Amant, Brooklyn, until 17 December 2023. The accompanying catalogue, featuring essays by environmental humanities scholars, is available for purchase through Amant’s website.