Lucy Orta was born in Sutton Coldfield, UK in 1966 and Jorge Orta was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1953. They founded Studio Orta Paris in 1991.

Lucy + Jorge Orta collaborative practice focuses on a number of sustainability issues tackling the ecological and the social factors to realise major bodies of work employing a number of mediums ranging from drawing, sculpture, installation, object making, couture, painting, silkscreen printing and Light Works, as well as staging workshops, ephemeral interventions and performances. The most emblematic series are: Refuge Wear: and Body Architecture: portable minimum habitats bridging architecture and dress; HortiRecycling: the food chain in global and local contexts; 70 x 7 The Meal: the ritual of dining and its role in community networking; The Gift: a metaphor for the heart and the biomedical ethics of organ donation; OrtaWater: the general scarcity of this vital resource and the problems arising from its pollution and corporate control; Antarctica: international human rights and freer international migration;Amazonia: the value of the natural environment to our daily lives and to our survival.

The Ortas’ artwork has been the focus of major solo exhibitions, including: The Curve, Barbican Art Gallery London and OrtaWater, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venice (2005), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam (2006), and Galleria Continua Beijing / San Gimignano / Le Moulin (2007–8); Antarctica, Biennial of the End of the World, Ushuaia, Antarctic Peninsula (2007), and Hangar Bicocca spazio d’arte Milan (2008); Amazonia, Natural History Museum London (2010). In 2007, the artists received the Green Leaf Award for artistic excellence with an environmental message, presented by the United Nations Environment Programme in partnership with the Natural World Museum at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.

Parallel and feeding into their practice Lucy + Jorge Orta are developing a cultural heritage regeneration program along the Grand Morin river, Marne-la-Vallée in the former industrial sites of La Laiterie (Dairy) since 2000, the Moulin de Boissy and the Moulin Sainte-Marie, two historical paper mills, since 2007 and 2009, respectively. They have relocated their studios from Paris and have founded Les Moulins, a non-profit research centre for interdisciplinary workshops and residencies to promote the creation and presentation of experimental in-situ artworks.