Nature has been inspiring artists for centuries, and its beauty has been captured in paintings, sculptures, photographs and a variety of other mediums. But some artists take the relationship between art and the environment a step further, creating works from nature itself or producing artworks that make bold statements about the natural world and the imprint mankind has left on it.

Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United States but also includes examples from many countries. As a trend, “land art” expanded boundaries of art by the materials used, which were often the materials of the Earth, including the soil, rocks, vegetation, and water found on-site, and the sites of the works were often distant from population centres. Though sometimes fairly inaccessible, photo documentation was commonly brought back to the urban art gallery.