Back to Earth
Serpentine Galleries, London

It’s Thursday lunchtime, and I’m sitting on a floor cushion contemplating an altar of earth and stones, listening to a hymn of rustling forest music. There’s a definite spiritual vibe at the Serpentine right now, starting with Theaster Gates’ Rothko-like Black Chapel, newly opened under the summer skies (and with an open, Pantheon-like aperture so you can see them) at the Kensington gallery. For a deeper dive into contemplative aids reminiscent of conventional faith settings, though, head to “Back to Earth” (to 18 September), which focuses on the climate emergency and how artists are responding to it.

Just like church, the show is a 360-degree experience: as well as the earth altars and the music, there’s the pungent scent of a curved soil sculpture by Dineo Seshee Bopape and Katy’taya Catitu Tayassu; and in the cafe, a plant-based menu encourages “a regenerative form of eating”. It’s all part of the gallery’s ongoing big idea to put nature and its needs centre stage: it began in 2019 and will, we are assured, continue after the current exhibition ends.