Janet Lees is a poet, artist and experimental filmmaker based in the Isle of Man. We spoke to Janet in the wake of COP 26 about the relationship between Climate Change and the Arts.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference. This year was held in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, between 31 October and 12 November 2021.

What is your professional background in the arts?

I’m a lens-based artist and poet. I did an undergraduate degree in Creative Arts (visual arts & writing) last century, and a Creative Writing MA in 2013. At the moment I’m most excited by experimental film work.

What inspired you to pursue a career as artist?

It’s something I have to do – I’m only half alive if I’m not creating. For a long time I had problems with addiction and depression, but for the last 18 years I’ve been in recovery and getting back to my creative work has been one of the biggest gifts of sobriety.

When did you first become aware of the climate change crisis? Was there a specific event or person who highlighted this?

In 2006, as part of my day job, I was working with M&S as a copywriter and creative strategist, helping them to communicate their sustainability initiatives. This led to me waking up fully to the trouble we are in. I did a deep dive into all things environmental, got involved in the Transition Towns movement and have been an advocate for change since then. One of the things that struck me about Transition was something that Rob Hopkins, the movement’s founder, said – along the lines of ‘we need to focus on possibilities rather than probabilities’. Sometimes I feel like I’m sinking under the impossibly heavy burden of dire climate data and predictions. But Joanna Macy, founder of Deep Ecology, says that we live in an incredibly complex multi-dimensional system and that it’s not possible for us to know what shifts might occur, because we operate in a linear way. Our predicament does look dark, but there is always hope that the earth will survive.

Tell us what the relationship between art and environmentalism means to you?

Pretty much all of my work expresses in some way what it’s like being human at a time when human activity is having a devastating effect on life on earth. I am a lifelong sea swimmer and nature lover, and in my work I also reflect this powerful, unbreakable, sacred connection with the natural world. I think it’s important to witness everything, without turning away: the beauty and the devastation. It’s all a reflection of our collective psyche.

What is the role of art in climate change mitigation?

Art has the power to spark great shifts in insight and understanding. We tend to reach for poetry, for example, at the most difficult or heightened times in life, because it speaks to how we feel. I remember standing in front of a Mark Rothko painting and bursting into tears. When you feel something this powerful, it changes you – and there’s a feeling that you have to respond in some way. Information and data don’t carry this power, these emotional seeds for restorative action.

What is the greatest challenge facing the planet right now in your opinion?

It feels as though we are in the eye of a perfect storm – climate breakdown, mass extinction, the collapse of social systems. At least, in the western world we are in the eye of it; in the global south people are in the teeth of it, with lives and livelihoods being lost every day.

What progress have you seen – share a positive news story in regards to climate change action.

There’s a huge range of grassroots stuff happening which largely goes on under the radar, and there are too many positive stories to pick just one. It’s a well-known fact that one of the most important things we can do to mitigate climate breakdown is plant trees, and search engines like Ecosia use the ad revenue from people’s searches to plant trees around the world. I love using Ecosia because you can see the number of trees planted ticking upwards constantly.

Who are your favourite Artist(s) who tackle themes of Climate Change?

I love Zara Forman’s giant pastel drawings of landscapes under threat https://www.zariaforman.com/ I also love Chris Jordan’s work because he looks at the damage we are doing in such a visceral and unflinching way through his camera lens: https://www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/chris-jordan/ https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/

What message would you like to leave readers with in the wake of COP26?

I think that remembering and restoring our connection with nature is one of the most important things we can do.

What is next for you?

I have an underwater camera now so I want to continue exploring the sea in photography, film and poetry.