Jantsa Erdenebayar

Where is The Spirit Today? 2025;

Series – 6, mixed media

Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar (born 1992 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work fuses Mongolian folk-tales, nomadic materials and contemporary sculpture. He holds a BA from Hunter College (New York) and an MFA from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Drawing on his heritage and upbringing in an artist family, Jantsankhorol often uses found materials, such as goat horns and reclaimed wood, from the Mongolian steppe to explore themes of resistance, adaptation and cultural survival. In 2019 he represented Mongolia at the 58th Venice Biennale with a site-specific installation combining sculpture and Mongolian throat-singing. His work invites viewers to consider the interplay of tradition and transformation in a rapidly globalising world.

Climate change is transforming Mongolia’s vast steppe ecosystem and traditional nomadic way of life. Average temperatures have risen more than twice the global rate, causing severe droughts in summer and harsh winter storms known as dzuds, which kill millions of livestock. Desertification now affects over three-quarters of the country, reducing pasture quality and forcing herders to migrate toward cities like Ulaanbaatar. Melting permafrost destabilises infrastructure and releases greenhouse gases, while changing rainfall patterns dry up rivers and lakes. Wildlife habitats are shrinking, and traditional livelihoods are under increasing strain, making climate change a major driver of social and environmental upheaval.