Natural Order: Art and the Environment
As climate urgency reshapes global consciousness, artists are moving beyond simply depicting the natural world to actively engaging with the environmental conditions that define our time. From practices grounded in care for Country and ecological knowledge, to works that interrogate the tensions between the organic and the synthetic, contemporary art is a powerful site for critique and connection.
This panel brings together three artists whose work responds to environmental change – whether through material choices or research-led processes – to explore how art can deepen our understanding of nature, challenge extractive systems and imagine more sustainable futures.
Alison Kubler | Host
Aidan Hartshorn | Speaker
Ellen Dahl | Speaker
Jamie North | Speaker
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Alison Kubler has a double major in Art History from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Masters in Post-war and Contemporary Art History from Manchester University, England. She has over 30 years of experience as a curator in museums and galleries in Australia, as well as on major public art commissions. She worked as Arts Adviser to the Federal Minister for the Arts and Sport, held full-time curatorial positions at QUT Art Museum and Gold Coast City Art Gallery, and served as Associate Curator at the University of Queensland Art Museum. Alison is the Editor in Chief of VAULT (vaultmagazine.com), a journal focused on art and culture, and a regular contributor to various art magazines and journals. She served as a Member of the Council of the National Gallery from 2018 to 2024, was the Chair of the Collections Committee of the National Gallery, and a Committee Member of Know My Name. In 2026, she was appointed a member of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees and a Board Member of Australasian Dance Collective.
Aidan Hartshorn‘s (Walgalu/Wiradjuri) practice examines the environmental and cultural impacts of industrialisation in Australia’s high country. Raised in Tumut, where the Murrumbidgee and Tumut Rivers meet, Hartshorn’s connection to his ancestral land is shaped by the disruptions of the Snowy Hydro-Electric Scheme, which submerged much of Walgalu Country, erasing sacred sites. The ongoing flooding and diversion of the Snowy River continue to affect Hartshorn’s community, limiting access to cultural practices and ancestral lands. Through his work, Hartshorn addresses the intersection of colonisation, environmental degradation, and cultural loss, often using industrial glass to create objects that reflect his heritage and the ecological damage. His creations, like his Murrin (bark canoe), embody reflections on loss, resilience, and the struggle to reconnect with the land.
Ellen Dahl‘s practice is rooted in working with and around the landscape and the concept of place-time. Originally from Arctic Norway and now living and working on Gadigal Country (Sydney), Australia, her work is shaped by a deep attentiveness to location — its geology, its atmospheres, and the slow processes that mark and transform it. Dahl continually explores the expanded photographic field for its potential to assemble new ecological meaning and geological imagination. She has exhibited extensively across Australia and internationally, and holds an MFA (Research) from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, and a PhD from the School of Creative Arts and Media, University of Tasmania. Dahl is represented by THIS IS NO FANTASY
Jamie North is a Sydney-based artist whose sculptural practice investigates the relationship between industrial materials, architecture and ecological systems. Working with concrete, metals, industrial by-products and living plant systems, he creates works that explore processes of erosion, succession, decay and regeneration within built environments. His practice is characterised by eroded architectural forms that operate as habitats, inviting natural processes to participate in the ongoing life of the work. North has developed major public artworks and site-responsive commissions across Australia and internationally, including projects for Queensland Ballet and the Windler Stiftung, Switzerland, as well as private and institutional commissions in North America. His work has been exhibited in the 20th Biennale of Sydney and at institutions including the NGV, QAGOMA, Monash University Museum of Art and Museum Wilhelm Morgner, Germany.
About Sydney Contemporary
Sydney Contemporary, presented by MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks from 3-6 September, bringing together 100 galleries from nine countries for the 10th edition of Australasia’s premier art fair. For four unforgettable days of discovery, conversation and spectacle, Carriageworks becomes the centre of the art world in our region. Alive with buzzing crowds, ambitious installations, performances, talks and inspiring encounters with artists and galleries, it’s Sydney’s most exciting cultural event this spring and an event not to miss.
Image: Ellen Dahl, Time and Time Again, 2026
