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The reality of global warming has been an unpleasant wake-up call to millions of people, leading many to become more aware about the need to protect the environment.

Unfortunately, judging by the litter on the streets and pollution in the rivers, people in Jakarta, by and large, haven’t gotten the message.

Galeri Nasional in Central Jakarta is doing their part to raise awareness about global warming and other environmental problems by hosting a new exhibition, titled “E(art)H Project: Sin City.”

The event, which is being put on by the Yayasan Art Project group, is designed to showcase “sustainable” artwork by 30 up-and-coming artists from Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta.

Curator Bambang Asrini Widjanarko said the exhibition’s goal is to get the public thinking about how their actions directly impact the environment. He also said it would get more artists to become active in the green movement.

“Art can be very closely connected to the environment,” Bambang said during a press conference on Friday.

He said that the term “Sin City” is meant to represent cities like Jakarta that have committed terrible “sins” against the environment.

Bambang said he hopes the exhibition will help people understand that they are the ones responsible for the condition of their environment.

Bandung-based artist Tisna Sanjaya, who has become well-known for his unique and provocative style, said he believes that capitalism has become a major threat to the environment and society.

Based on his travels around Indonesia, Tisna said he has found that consumerism is destroying the culture and environment of people living in small cities and villages. He said he had seen extreme and worrisome changes in those places, which can manifest themselves in many ways, from dried-up and neglected rice fields to plastic bags choking beaches and rivers.

Tisna definitely takes a creative approach to raising awareness. In his installation for the exhibit, titled “Panen Plastik dan Beras” (“Plastic and Rice Harvest”), he built an elaborate machine to grind plastic down to a fine grain to illustrate how difficult it is to dispose of plastic waste.

Bambang said he is especially excited that there are so many young artists involved in the exhibition. He singled out Amalia Kartikasari as an artist that is destined to turn heads.

Born in 1987, Amalia’s anti-television art sends a message that not many people would expect from a 24-year-old. Her series of wood-framed mixed media pieces, titled “To Control or to Be Controlled” depicts blaring TV screens that illustrate her belief that television is “visual pollution.”

Some of the pieces are quite whimsical, such as “Transform in Secret Factory,” a painting by an artist collective known as the Recycle Experience. It features two robots that have been cobbled together from recycled toys.

A poignant painting by the artist known as Eddy, “The Last Tree,” seems to sum up the warning inherent in many of the exhibition’s pieces. It shows a tree with leaves forming an image of the Earth’s continents. The tree stands alone in the middle of a desolate wasteland.

Tisna said he has been inspired by all of the different works in the exhibition and added that he is looking forward to working together with many of the new artists from the show in the near future.

“I have learned so much from all of them,” he said.

In addition to the event’s many promising young artists, attendees should not miss a 10-minute video presentation from 51-year-old Yogyakarta-based artist Heri Dono.

In the video, titled “Scapegoat Republic,” Heri plays a politician at a podium haranguing an audience of goats .

The artist said the video is aimed at calling attention to the way that politicians and government officials are taking advantage of the uneducated.

Andre Sukmana, director of Galeri Nasional, said he was very pleased with the exhibition. He added that he was heartened to see more Indonesian artists calling attention to environmental issues through their work.

He said he hopes this project will get people to be more proactive about protecting the environment.

“I really hope this project is able to inspire a lot of people.”

E(art)H Project: Sin City
Until April 17 
Open to the public
Galeri Nasional
Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur No. 14
Central Jakarta
021 3483 3954