In Conversation With Bandana Jain: Breaking Down The Role Of Artists In Climate Action

Image Source: Bandana Jain (Gallery | Bandana Jain - Indian female contemporary artist)

“Can art save the planet?” The question might sound naive and the intuitive answer might be a resounding no. But when you speak with Bandana Jain, an artist who transforms discarded materials into stunning, large-scale installations, it starts to feel like a very real possibility. Her work promotes eco-consciousness and sustainable living. In an age of climate despair and information fatigue, where reports and statistics barely make us flinch, Jain’s work invites us to pause, to feel, and to imagine differently. She has frequently contributed to the press on matters of sustainability, consumerism, and design. The discussion prompted by her work and this interview reveals that art might help save the planet by changing people’s mindsets and opening them up to a world of possibilities.

Known for her signature use of corrugated cardboard and her quiet yet powerful aesthetic, Jain doesn’t see herself as an activist, but rather as someone who believes in the silent strength of beauty. Her art doesn’t shout slogans; it whispers hope, reclaims discarded narratives, and reminds us that sustainability isn’t a sacrifice—it can be beautiful, smart, and thought-provoking. She recognises the power artists hold in sending a message to society. Jain also emphasised the importance of carbon neutrality in our conversation. 

During her first year of college, Jain started experimenting with recycled packaging materials. She produced the first corrugated cardboard L-shaped five-seater sofa in India. Its strength and endurance surpassed expectations, withstanding years of use and even the unrelenting monsoons in Mumbai. She only uses a specific type of corrugated cardboard. Recycled cardboard is more than just a medium for Jain; she says it redefines what sustainable design is capable of.

In this conversation, we dive into the role of artists in climate action, the subtle politics of material choices, and how creating with care can be an act of resistance—especially when you’re a woman reclaiming space in both art and society. This conversation will be particularly insightful for students because Jain shares words of wisdom from her career that has spanned over a decade. She explains what it means to take up a project and when to take a step back. From Raja Ravi Verma to Banksy, Somnath to Jason deCaires Taylor, from personal rebellion to public installations, Jain weaves stories of transformation and empowerment that stay with you long after your first encounter with them.

Q: Amid growing tensions between individual and collective responsibility in the climate crisis, where do you see the role of artists and creatives? How can their work shift mindsets or spark systems-level change in sustainability?

Jain: Artists play, and have played since forever, a very important role in this. One example I can give is Raja Ravi Verma. He gave faces to the gods and goddesses. Those who were not allowed to go to the temple got their own god in terms of the pictures he created. Right? So the kind of shift you see today, whatever Saraswati or you know, Krishna, we see, it is, and the image which comes into our mind, Raja Ravi Verma created it 100 years ago. So that's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about the impression of artists in society is their contribution. 

Second, you can take the example of Banksy, you know, this guy who got very popular for the “balloon girl”. So this guy, you should check out his work, one is Snow. Nobody has seen him ever. Nobody knows who Banksy is. He is extremely popular across the world. Now, he is a graffiti artist. His work is more towards rebelliousness and resistance. So, one such work he did, like many others, was always about societal issues. The one that resonated with me was when a kid was enjoying the snowfall and licking the snow. And from the other side, the smoke was coming. It has become a part of the entire environment. So basically, he was trying to show that though he is licking snow, he is actually licking the pollution. So that was, you know, the way he interpreted the entire thing. It was beautiful. He’s worked around the Palestinian cause and many other subjects related to animals and everyday societal issues. 

Image Source: The Asian Age (Banksy 'snow' pollution mural sold for over USD130,000)

Another guy, Somnath, was an activist, and he is known as an artivist. He talked about the famine in West Bengal, where 30 lakh people died. Yeah. So you can imagine the kind of impact we can create as artists. Though, in my case, if I say, it's more about, like, I'm a very subtle artist, I don't see myself as an activist. But I give a very subtle message to my work. One is to adopt sustainability. And that it's also cool. It's also, you know, so beautiful; it is only your mindset that determines how you perceive it. I feel somewhere, it creates an impact.

Q. In an age of climate anxiety, where doom narratives dominate, how do you envision your art contributing to “hopeful activism”? Can beauty be a form of protest?

Jain: As I say I don't consider myself an activist though the recent Hyderabad episode was really heart-wrenching for me. A 400-acre land [Kancha Gachibowli Forest (KGF)] was cleared overnight despite protests. That was something that hit me very badly but otherwise, I just want to keep it you know to an extent where so basically my thought is like if I kind of push myself on you you will not take it seriously anybody who pushes you to do this or that it does not work out so a special message if it goes very beautifully to you, as art, has the capacity to move you. 

When it comes to sustainability you get to see a lot of reports but art makes a huge difference. If I make this a very interesting artwork, that itself first gives you that wow factor. People could even think my trash can be somebody else's treasure yeah. The second thing is that sustainability can be beautiful, interesting, and can be talked about- this is what I mostly want to show through my work but my other idea is to interact with nature and through that, I want to create an impactful impression that will definitely create a conversation so but yeah we have to take the responsibility to do something or the other to create that sort of awareness right.

Q. Ecofeminism highlights the deep connections between the exploitation of nature and the marginalisation of women. As a female artist working with discarded materials to create sustainable art, do you see your work as a form of ecofeminist resistance — reclaiming both agency and ecology through creation

Jain: So I got to know this term yesterday only when you shared it with me. I was like what is it? Vandana Shiva’s name pops up. Otherwise, I don't have so much understanding about this terminology but what you have said I see the association in terms of one thing. The family I come from, I don't see any equality. In fact girls or ladies are not allowed to go out and work. Even in studies, there's no parity. Yeah so from that environment I came out and I did this. I see that I inspire many girls and many people around me when they see me and it gives them hope and it gives them that thought because I think the bigger problem we have is that we don't understand our rights. The idea is always that oh I can be a good girl or a woman only if I take care of my family and guests, do all the household work and raise kids. Later I realised that you know you can skip all these things and not having a child in your life even that can be your choice I didn't know that before. I think I inspire many around me who feel that if she can do it we can do it as well and so I think that is the ecofeminism I have achieved by working in my field. 

The second point is sustainability- definitely, when I started working on sustainable practices this term did not even exist in India. If you see the ancient Indian culture we were always into sustainable practices and if you hear some historians talking about that you'll get to know that the kind of degree to which we used to practice sustainability was amazing but we've kind of forgotten the entire concept of it. We have followed the path of the Westernised world. We started using thermocol and plastics. Weaving, pottery and all these other things were part of our culture. Even our attire and cutleries were sustainable and could be passed down through generations because they exist forever. But somehow we forgot the entire concept of it. When I started it was kind of an oblivious thing. Nobody knew sustainability nobody understood the concept of it and why the hell we should practice it. People used to laugh at it but now things have changed. 

Q. As someone who crafts large-scale sustainable art, how do you navigate the paradox of creating physical installations in a world already overwhelmed by material excess? Can sustainable art ever be truly ‘zero-impact’?

Jain: Listen first of all sustainability is not a synonym of eco-friendliness. People get confused. Eco-friendly is a different thing and sustainability is way more vast than that. If I talk about larger-than-life artworks or installations and all these things- if something like this creates an impression in people's minds and any kind of awareness about the society or solves any purpose like portraying your culture, I don't think about sustainable unsustainable because sustainability means something should stay for a longer period of time right so if an installation is done and it stays for a longer period of time like 20-40 years it does make sense. 

If I exist that means there will be some impact I'll create in the environment so that's not possible. Zero impact is not possible it's just how are we going to get it negative that's more important but overall in sustainable art, for me the bigger the better because then it creates a strong presence. That's very important. If it is happening for say for example a wedding which is a one-day affair some event which is like a two-day affair or whatever and that is if you make sure that should be discarded properly then I think half of the problem will be solved so but we need to do this installation for sure in terms of like if we create awareness or give some information through that is very very important.

Q: How do you decide which projects to take on and which ones to not? what should guide the decision-making of young professionals who are just starting out in your field?

Jain: Right. So for me, it was very easy. Because I chose a medium and I started working on it. And that was my pitch to my clients. So I was very sure that I was going to work with this medium for a very long time until it became my identity. So many times it happened, my clients were like, why don't you explore some other mediums also? And we can give you better opportunities. But I think it is very important to stick to your roots and know what your subject is. Because otherwise, you lose the essence from where you start. So when I started, I started with small things like lamps and, you know, decor stuff. And later, I started doing art,  though my education was always art. But I started with design and then I moved to art. And that's where I got the opportunity to uplift the material. Because when it comes to art, nobody asks the price and why it is like this, what's the cost of the material and all these things. So art gives you a better opportunity to express yourself through work. And you get your own space to think. The ideas are not imposed on you, or on artists. 

So many clients I've worked with, only told me that this is the space where I want to use your work. And the rest was my call, what I wanted to do. When we are young, like we start in our 20s, at that time we get an urge to do something, our mind is very fragmented. We feel like, okay, yeh bhi kar lete hain, woh bhi kar lete hain. But to stick to one thing and to do it and do justice with that thing is very important. That's what my understanding is. Because we tend to get bored so easily. So sticking to the thing is very important. Because whatever you like the most in your mind, it can be boring if you practice it every day. So this is one thing- to stick. I was very sure about what I was doing. And I put my heart and soul into it. And the rest is history. Like now I'm working with the best in the industry, in every industry possible. So yeah, that's the thing. 

Q: And when do you know that there's a project that you shouldn't take? 

Jain: So there was this recent thing for me. There was a project, which I had decided to do in a particular place. The problem was that I had to make a stone around my project. I had to either use the stone, real stone, or FRP material. FRP is an engineered material, which I don't see as a great material to work with as Bandana Jain. But at the same time, in my creative overall interpretation, it was very important for me to use it. And then I didn't have a choice. I had to choose one thing. So I choose FRP. I was feeling guilty, even though other mediums I used were wood, seasoned wood, some 50 years old, and my special cardboard. I believe that if we maintain a 60-40 ratio in our work, where 60% we maintain sustainability, and 40% due to some reason, it goes here and there, I feel I'm okay. And we should be okay about it, because 100% sustainability, maybe we won't be able to survive. That's what I feel, that's not my case. But otherwise, so in case of like, in terms of your question, I would suggest that if there's such a thing where you had to decline, you should decline something in terms of sustainability. And I think that's the most important thing we all should do, that whatever wrongdoing happens from our side, we should compensate. So I like this concept of carbon neutrality by doing some other thing and compensating it. So I did that, and that is something that can be done.

Q. If the environment could commission an artwork from you, what would it look like? What message would you want that artwork to convey to humanity?

Jain: There are a lot of messages I want to give. I’d like to take one example of an artist called Jason deCaires Taylor who makes underwater art like corals. Jason was an underwater photographer and after practising his photography for many years he decided that he'd sculpt something. He’s an environmentalist too so he created that coral sort of thing with different materials and then it became the house of fish and sea creatures. That was beautiful. I was really inspired by his work and I want to merge my creativity with nature just like him. And that would be you know, the right ovation to nature. I feel that you know nature itself is so beautiful that if we kind of inculcate– like again if you see Indian architecture from thousand years or so ago like the Konark Sun Temple or Hawa Mahal in Jaipur you see a lot of such architecture across the country that is a great amalgamation of nature with architecture. So in my case as an artist, I want to do something on the same line where I can use nature in a certain way that it can be part of the entire installation. There are a lot of ideas I have in my mind just that I need some helping hands in terms of the funding and volunteers. That's why the project is on hold right now but yeah these are my ideas to work on in future. 

Bandana Jain reminds us that art doesn’t have to roar to be revolutionary—it can stir, soothe, and shift perspectives in the most unexpected ways. In a world chasing urgency and drowned in consumerism, her work quietly insists that installations like hers, too, can be a form of action. It gets you thinking. And perhaps that’s how artists are changing the world one artwork at a time.