A Climate of Change brings together Waltham Forest residents to draw hope for the natural world in this time of coronavirus crisis and to bring forth better, more sustainable communities. 19 artists have submitted artworks exploring this in their own personal and creative ways. This participatory project necessitated artists being resourceful and imaginative over the last few months, when the March- June 2020 lockdown and social distancing measures limited opportunities for artists to move around and even have access to traditional artistic materials.
Scroll down (and click on each art work to find out more about the piece and to view a larger version) – to see how Waltham Forest residents have been taking inspiration from the natural world and their direct surroundings to create striking artworks.
Our first two artworks, by Rosalind Stephens (above) and Janet Bowstead (below) capture the contrasting, strange emotions of Spring 2020, reflecting on a time of both life and death. Rosalind explains how “Peonies are only around for a brief period of time, and they change as their buds open up, flower, then fade and die. By photographing them, they are alive and they last forever”.
Janet’s work touches on a similar sentiment, as she describes: “I have been walking in nearby Epping Forest these few months, and struck by how the dead trees are left to continue to be part of the ecosystem, whilst surrounded by all the new green growth of spring. The photograph is of this juxtaposition of life and death – a collage of a sequence of images of trees reflected in Highams Park lake.”
Janet’s artwork, and her words, remind us of another key feature of these strange times in early 2020: for those who can, getting outside to take exercise and escape the confines of our homes. For many people this has entailed an in depth exploration of our immediate environments, becoming familiar with paths, places, cut-throughs and fields we never were there, and drawing inspiration and hope from these features. A striking pair of photographs, by Teresa Deacon and Peter Tomlinson respectively, show how artists have been seeking inspiration from their material environments perhaps like never before.
Nadia Zuberi’s submission perfectly encapsulates the dualism of many of our lives over the past 3 months, the inside/outside motif providing a direct reflection of how many of us have seen our existence, and also hinting at some of the turbulence and strife some of us have felt inside ourselves or more globally. Nadia says: “I was putting my piece together I started thinking about what was going on in the world right now, how everything seems a bit upside down, back to front, chaotic and even surreal. I wanted to capture that feeling, yet I didn’t want it to feel bleak and depressing.”
Nadia’s work is also informed by her recent art classes, where she has been exploring collage – a highly practical and resourceful medium, used by artists for over a century when other materials have been hard to come by. This is an important theme of A Climate of Change, with Gemma Lawrence posting a series of video workshops explaining how sustainable art can be made using everyday objects.
Other artists have showed how they can make beautiful and striking artworks using non-typical materials, including the following works by Lynda McDonald, Valentina Zagaglia, Yiska Fonseca and Jude Greenaway, and Gillian Lawrence:
Yiska Fonseca, A Piece of Murmuration, Music by Jude Greenaway, Untitled (Jigsaw)
Gillian Lawrence provides words to accompany her site-specific artwork, words which are at the same time haunting and playful… “I had cardboard from Ebay parcels. I had textiles from Silky Sue. It is Lockdown. I read the book about Troublesome Creek. I sang the cotton mill songs. I joined USA Zooms at midnight…”
Click on her artwork to see the full text. Gillian’s words effortlessly situate us, here in Waltham Forest, in our global context, with the links, networks and systems that connect us with others in the world. This is complemented in Linda McDonald’s artwork by a temporal dimension, showing the impact of humans on biodiversity on a geological timescale. This portentous theme is continued in our next suite of artworks by Teresa Elwes, Sono Scott and Yvonne Overton:
Teresa Elwes writes: “This is a photo of the Floral Moon that appeared during lockdown… Although we look to the moon with great awe and humility, it is barren and serves to reflect the fruitful beauty of the earth back to us. I have called the work ‘Final Warning’ as an indication of what is at stake.”
Sono Scott writes: “I wanted to create an artwork about climate change, which looks as clear as a road sign, to convey the message to people of any nationality, age, gender, and social background”.
SRG Bennett similarly tries to address global issues, in a very local, Walthamstow way: “Photos of dirt, pollutants and melting ice on car windows (from Coppermill Lane) are blown up in scale to elicit the global processes they are intimately entwined with: climate change, air pollution, resource depletion.”
Bryan Ledger and Alison Stirling also produce artworks based on the natural phenomena outside our doors and windows. Alison writes: “During lockdown, I have been painting urban birdlife. I was struck by how visible and audible the wildlife became in my built up area.”
Bryan Ledger shares sentiments which many of us might empathise with “I have found the period of lockdown to be stressful at times as I am sure many others have also… There is a great peace to be found amongst these animals who continue to go about their lives as normal, unaffected by the situation we find ourselves in.”
Rebecca Dyer’s intriguing character, complete with smiley face mask, is covered in bugs and butterflies:
Rebecca’s work is called “Fate” and summarises many of the sentiments of the show and indeed this uncertain time. We complete our collection with three artworks which develop this theme, but specifically look to draw hope in this challenging period. Fontana Kennedy’s title says it all “Awakening”:
Ceri Williams has tried to achieve change, build connections and improve wellbeing through the very process of making art: “The artwork is made up of three prints that I made in small batches during each month of the lockdown and sent to my family and friends as I reflected on the coronavirus crisis and the future. They were made with my 1 year old daughter Enfys at the forefront of my mind (the future) and the text on each one says “WITH LOVE FROM Enfys”. The prints I posted out were folded and put into envelopes to be opened with some uncertainty but hopefully care by the recipients.”
We finish with a piece by Georgia Murphy which perfectly encapsulates the work of The Mill and the purpose of this show, A Climate for Change, held at this time:
Georgia writes: “My print is inspired by the practice of mutual aid and is a call to action for a new society based on collective and community care. This block print was made from stamps created out of household rubbers. This is a DIY printing method which I have been experimenting with since lockdown as a quick and accessible way of making art about what’s going on in the world”.
A Climate of Change was commissioned by Waltham Forest Council as part of Waltham Forest Virtual Culture. Funded by the Great Place Scheme.
