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A gallery view featuring a large, suspended cylindrical sculpture made of hanging green and purple threads over organic material, flanked by two framed wall tapestries.

Dear Earth

21 June – 3 September 2023

Inspired by artist Otobong Nkanga’s suggestion that ‘caring is a form of resistance’, Dear Earth was an engaging group show that explored themes of care, hope, and emotional and spiritual connection with our environment.

Bringing together 15 artists from around the world, the exhibition explored the interdependence of ecologies and ecosystems, as well as our emotional connection with nature.

From giant photographs made on grass to a large-scale media screen made with recycled bottles, the artworks in the show highlighted ingenuity and inventiveness, as well as empathy and understanding.

Dear Earth featured engaging and impactful works in a diverse range of media, including public artworks outside the gallery space. The exhibition included artists Ackroyd & Harvey, Andrea Bowers, Imani Jacqueline Brown, Agnes Denes, John Gerrard, Cristina Iglesias, Aluaiy Kaumakan, Jenny Kendler, Richard Mosse, Otobong Nkanga, Cornelia Parker, Himali Singh Soin, Hito Steyerl, Daiara Tukano and Grounded Ecotherapy.

‘This exhibition sparks moments of joy and wonder’

The Upcoming

Exhibition gallery

An outdoor sculpture of a large, abstract cluster of hundreds of colorful painted eyes mounted on poles in front of the Hayward Gallery building.
Mark Blower
View larger image 1 of 16. An outdoor sculpture of a large, abstract cluster of hundreds of colorful painted eyes mounted on poles in front of the Hayward Gallery building.
A large, pyramidal stepped planter filled with various grasses and small plants, resembling a living ziggurat, displayed in a white gallery room.
Installation view of Agnes Denes, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 2 of 16. A large, pyramidal stepped planter filled with various grasses and small plants, resembling a living ziggurat, displayed in a white gallery room.
A painting of a naked woman standing on a fish in a wavy ocean
Andrea Bowers, Nature Is Not out There We Are a Part of It, (Pipe the Little Songs, Original Illustration by Dugald Stewart Walker, Published by Doubleday, Page & Co, New York, 1920), 2020. Photo: Dawn Blackman.
View larger image 3 of 16. A painting of a naked woman standing on a fish in a wavy ocean
A woman views a large photograph of an abandoned industrial site where brightly colored red foliage and weeds are overgrowing metal pipes and machinery.
Installation view of Richard Mosse, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis Photograph: Mark Blower
View larger image 4 of 16. A woman views a large photograph of an abandoned industrial site where brightly colored red foliage and weeds are overgrowing metal pipes and machinery.
A bright red and yellow abstract textile sculpture resembling a swirling eye or cell, viewed through a foreground frame of tangled, colourful threads and yarn.
Installation view of Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis
View larger image 5 of 16. A bright red and yellow abstract textile sculpture resembling a swirling eye or cell, viewed through a foreground frame of tangled, colourful threads and yarn.
Three large, framed portraits hang side-by-side on a white gallery wall. The portraits are dark, monochromatic, and rendered in a blurred, eerie acid-green or chartreuse hue.
Installation view of Ackroyd & Harvey, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 6 of 16. Three large, framed portraits hang side-by-side on a white gallery wall. The portraits are dark, monochromatic, and rendered in a blurred, eerie acid-green or chartreuse hue.
Exterior of a Brutalist concrete building with a horizontal window. The window reflects the overcast sky and contains a colorful indoor exhibit of abstract eye-shaped art and a small group of people.
Installation view of Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis
View larger image 7 of 16. Exterior of a Brutalist concrete building with a horizontal window. The window reflects the overcast sky and contains a colorful indoor exhibit of abstract eye-shaped art and a small group of people.
A large, rectangular art installation made of hundreds of glowing LED lights displaying a pixelated image in bright green and purple, with foliage on the left side.
Installation view of Hito Steyerl, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 8 of 16. A large, rectangular art installation made of hundreds of glowing LED lights displaying a pixelated image in bright green and purple, with foliage on the left side.
An outdoor circular art installation filled with pale moss and yellow accents stands on a Southbank Centre terrace, flanked by two sculptures made of colourful painted eyes.
Installation view of Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis. Photograph: Mark Blower
View larger image 9 of 16. An outdoor circular art installation filled with pale moss and yellow accents stands on a Southbank Centre terrace, flanked by two sculptures made of colourful painted eyes.
Two framed artworks hang on a white gallery wall: a tapestry of a tree with faces in its leaves and a collage of a girl with two yellow birds on a brown surface.
Installation view of Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis. Photograph: Mark Blower
View larger image 10 of 16. Two framed artworks hang on a white gallery wall: a tapestry of a tree with faces in its leaves and a collage of a girl with two yellow birds on a brown surface.
A gallery installation featuring a uprooted tree trunk lying on the floor with exposed roots, two dark glass globes, a large embroidered tapestry depicting a tree and space, and a framed textile with handwriting.
Installation view of Otobong Nkanga, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 11 of 16. A gallery installation featuring a uprooted tree trunk lying on the floor with exposed roots, two dark glass globes, a large embroidered tapestry depicting a tree and space, and a framed textile with handwriting.
A gallery wall with two works: a large black and white mural of a stylized forest with thick roots and patterned foliage, and a smaller painting of a nude seated woman.
Installation view of Otobong Nkanga, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 12 of 16. A gallery wall with two works: a large black and white mural of a stylized forest with thick roots and patterned foliage, and a smaller painting of a nude seated woman.
A cube made up of green walls with stairs leading up to seating
Installation view of Cristina Iglesias, Dear Earth Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 13 of 16. A cube made up of green walls with stairs leading up to seating
A video screen installation on a gallery floor. The video shows a figure in white on a small boat in icy water, with a background of vast snow-capped mountains. The screen is reflected in a shallow pool of dark water in the foreground.
Installation view of Himali Singh Soin, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 14 of 16. A video screen installation on a gallery floor. The video shows a figure in white on a small boat in icy water, with a background of vast snow-capped mountains. The screen is reflected in a shallow pool of dark water in the foreground.
A pink and red yarn-based sculpture with pieces of yarn protruding and scattered across the floor.
Installation view of Aluaiy Kaumakan, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 15 of 16. A pink and red yarn-based sculpture with pieces of yarn protruding and scattered across the floor.
A dark gallery installation with a circular illuminated floor screen displaying bright white clouds, below a hanging dark blue tapestry or fabric panel.
Installation view of Imani Jacqueline Brown, Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis (21 Jun –⁠ 3 Sep 2023). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the Hayward Gallery.
View larger image 16 of 16. A dark gallery installation with a circular illuminated floor screen displaying bright white clouds, below a hanging dark blue tapestry or fabric panel.

Articles & videos

Dear Earth artist in focus: Daiara Tukano
Artwork by Daiara Tukano on display at the Hayward Gallery as part of the exhibition, Dear Earth
Article

Dear Earth artist in focus: Daiara Tukano

Daira Tukano creates images based on introspective dream-like experiences. Her work featured as part of the 2023 Hayward Gallery exhibition Dear Earth.

Dear Earth artist in focus: Richard Mosse
A woman views a large photograph of an abandoned industrial site where brightly colored red foliage and weeds are overgrowing metal pipes and machinery.
Article

Dear Earth artist in focus: Richard Mosse

Richard Mosse has been documenting the Amazon through specialist imaging technology. His work featured as part of 2023’s Dear Earth at Hayward Gallery.

Otobong Nkanga on climate change, hope and resistance
The artist Otobong Nkanga wearing red framed glasses and a multi-coloured jacket
Video

Otobong Nkanga on climate change, hope and resistance

Artist Otobong Nkanga discusses her work Double Shot (2018) and the theme and focus of Dear Earth with Hayward Gallery chief curator Rachel Thomas.

Dear Earth artist in focus: Andrea Bowers
A gallery view featuring a large, suspended cylindrical sculpture made of hanging green and purple threads over organic material, flanked by two framed wall tapestries.
Article

Dear Earth artist in focus: Andrea Bowers

Artist Andrea Bowers makes art about activism and activists using a range of media. Her work featured in 2023 Hayward Gallery exhibition Dear Earth.

Grass portraits: Ackroyd & Harvey on creating photographic photosynthesis
Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey sit in the cafe at Hayward Gallery
Video

Grass portraits: Ackroyd & Harvey on creating photographic photosynthesis

Artists Ackroyd & Harvey explain the ‘photographic photosynthesis’ process behind their portraits for Hayward Gallery’s 2023 Dear Earth exhibition.

Playlist: Dear Earth
The word Playlist in yellow type over an image of the exterior of the Hayward Gallery fringed by a tree
Playlist

Playlist: Dear Earth

A playlist curated by artists – Ackroyd & Harvey, Aluaiy Kaumakan, Otobong Nkanga and Imani Jacqueline Brown – from Hayward Gallery exhibition Dear Earth.

5 things to know about Dear Earth
A large, rectangular art installation made of hundreds of glowing LED lights displaying a pixelated image in bright green and purple, with foliage on the left side.
Article

5 things to know about Dear Earth

An introduction to Dear Earth, Hayward Gallery’s 2023 summer exhibition which explored themes of care, hope and connection with our environment.

Credits & partners

Dear Earth was generously supported by Simon Morris and Annalisa Burello, Catherine Walsh, the US Embassy London and the Dear Earth: Exhibition Supporters’ Group: Andrew Kreps Gallery; Pace Gallery; Esther Schipper, Berlin/Paris/Seoul; Bianca and Stuart Roden; Charlotte Feng Ford; Monica Monajem; Lisson Gallery; Gagosian; Jack Shainman Gallery; Trevor Bowen; and Vielmetter Los Angeles. With additional support from Mariana Clayton, Mercedes Vilardell, The African Arts Trust, the Goethe-Institut London and ZSL (Zoological Society of London).

We remain grateful for the Hayward Gallery Commissioning Committee’s key support in helping us to realise the outdoor commissions for Dear Earth.

The public programme was kindly supported by the Gaia Art Foundation.

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