Jan Woolf is a writer and artist. She has edited many books, written a number of plays, and published reviews and other pieces of journalism in the Guardian, International Times and more. Jan is also a political activist. This month, she’s showing a collection of recent artworks at the Tavistock Centre.

Landscape at Play features over 20 paintings, drawings and collage pieces made on unusual materials, such as breadboards and MacBook Air boxes. There’s even “a mirror found in a skip” and repurposed as a canvas. The use of recycled materials is deliberate and ties in with the overall theme of environmental awareness.

Speaking at the private view last Thursday, Peter Kennard, artist and professor at the Royal College of Art, praised the environmentally conscious message of the show, which he said is “pointing to the fact that we’re fucking up this landscape and destroying the beauty of this world. We’re doing it at speed, and profit-chasing corporations are contributing to this.” He likened Jan’s art to the work of Peter Lanyon.

There is a strong message throughout this thought-provoking exhibition, and expressed explicitly in the artist’s manifesto. “Climate change threatens us all with parching and ice storms,” warns Jan. Her concern with the state of the Earth is inspiring as she targets “the banks, corporate grabbers and those who poison it”. The exhibition is dedicated to “all who cherish the land around them”.

It is also dedicated to her “late dear sweet mum” in what feels like a touching tribute. “I had a country childhood and I’ve always felt the imaginative and mothering power of the landscape,” she said. “I drew and painted as a child, went to art school and helped children draw and paint for many years. This is full circle for me.”

The working title of the exhibition was Landscape and the Inner World. Jan said it’s been “a state of grace” to create and put these pictures on the wall.

Landscape at Play runs until 31st December 2024 (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays) at the Tavistock Centre, 120 Belsize Lane, London NW3 5BA.

Visit Jan’s website.