The role of the environmental artist in the second decade of the 21st century is examined in the publication titled ‘Environmental art: Activism, aesthetics and transformation’. Published in 2017, it was written alongside a body of art that was created over a three and a half year period and formed an installation exhibition of sculpture, printmaking, and painting. This work is reflexive and dialogical, drawing on environmental philosophy and other environmental artists’ to find symbolic and practical connections. The art protests against recklessness of policy makers while building an aesthetic appreciation of the artwork produced. Elements that underpin the art practice include the relationship of activist, aesthetic and transformative concerns, highlighting an integration of symbolic geometric shapes used in the exultation of mundane objects such as ocean litter. The creation of this body of work provides insights into the practice of making art that is aesthetic as well as an activist statement about contemporary society. The nexus across social comment, aesthetics and transformation through environmental art is explored.