In January, I hosted a new exhibition by artist and counsellor Linda Latter at the Tavistock Centre. In Visual Biography, Linda was “taking a line for a walk” through her life, inspired by a quote from artist Paul Klee. The show was a visual display of stages of life, with a mixture of elements like line, colour, shape and texture.

In her long career, Linda has taught art in secondary schools and worked for the NHS as a practice counsellor for many years, supporting patients’ well-being and confidence through creativity. Now retired, she can devote more time to her own artwork.

A woman standing in front of her artworks on the wall, smiling for the cameraLinda Latter

How did the idea of the Visual Biography originate?

I started thinking about the different life stages of a person who has lived a reasonably long time. Then, I decided to look at my life from the perspective of these defined stages: birth, the reciprocal gaze with the mother, gradual separation, schools, college and so on. I looked at writers who have written about the stages of life in various ways, like Shakespeare, Erik Erikson and some female writers speaking of old age.

Where have you have exhibited this show before?

At a café/restaurant called MAP in Kentish Town, at the Camden Image Gallery and at the Catford Arts Trail.

So, what has brought you to showing it in the NHS setting?

The idea of showing it at the Tavistock arose as I had seen the space in the corridor leading to the library and thought it would fit physically there.

I also thought that the students at the Tavistock might respond to the idea of a review of a life. In particular a life showing the recovery of memories through a combination of my own therapy, training in counselling and psychotherapy, and working as a Practice Counsellor and Supervisor in the NHS, in addition to several charities.

Three women looking at artworks on the wallVisual Biography private view

Were there any parts of the biography you left out for one reason or another?

I seemed to know intuitively what I needed to put in. Afterwards, I noticed I had left out events that didn’t immediately suggest a visual form. I also avoided references to subjects that were definitely more shocking to me, and I think they would have been for others too.

What are your artistic plans for this year?

I’ll be showing landscapes in an exhibition with another artist in May at the Sprout Gallery in Tooting. It’s an artists’ collective where I am a member. In the future, I will research whether there are any psychotherapy training institutions that might have some wall space for the Visual Biography, and I shall continue developing it.

Also, I plan to get in touch with some art-in-hospitals organisations with a view to loaning, giving or selling some of my landscape and still life paintings.

Visit Linda’s website.