Environmental art is on the rise – with a little help from Leonardo DiCaprio

Olafur Eliasson, Shepard Fairey and Tomis Saraceno are among a growing group of artists creating works that draw attention to the effects of climate change

The image looks like a scene from a science fiction movie about an alien landscape on another planet: a 28-by-24-foot LED wall depicting an impressive, circular array of giant mirrors surrounding a tower lit at the top. But this is very much an earthly construct. It's an artwork reflecting the emergence of renewable energy: a digital simulation of a solar power plant producing electricity in the Nevada desert.

The artwork, called Solar Reserve (Tonopah, Nevada) 2014, was created by Irish artist John Gerrard and illustrates the changing views of the solar arrays from day to night. The actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has used his fame to publicize the perils of global warming, bought and donated the work to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.