Can creativity be a catalyst for change? BBC Earth invites artists to utilise the natural world and rewild their practices

It’s Nice That: Could you tell us about your relationship with BBC Earth prior to this project?

Rose Pilkington: So much of my work is hugely inspired by the insights that BBC Earth gives us into the natural world. I’ve always been a huge fan of all the content BBC Earth produces, ever since I was a child. There is such magic in being shown precious moments in nature that we’d never possibly be able to see or experience with our own eyes. What I’ve always loved is to be shown these mind blowing, natural moments and baffling oddities occurring every day, all around the world, that we’d otherwise have never known about. It’s such a privilege to be able to see.

NT: How did you develop the concept for your artworks? Especially this idea of creating modern, yet historical feeling artefacts?

RP: What sparked my inspiration was the idea of trying to visualise insects immortalised in amber. Insects or specimens preserved in time, suspended in rock or amber, have connotations of the past. Often extinct, preserved for hundreds and thousands of years, they serve as a piece of time in place. This in turn reflects the themes of the changing state of our planet and allows us a moment to marvel at – and appreciate what we could lose.

I started sketching out the work initially as a collage of elements, insects and plants. I then started building out each composition modelled in 3D, focusing on creating detailed and brightly coloured materials for the insects, so they appeared jewel-like. I placed flower and leaf elements amongst the insects, and created a jelly or ice-like block to feel like they were preserved in time.

INT: Over the course of this project, we’ve noticed how creating work inspired by nature has a nostalgic feeling. Would you say this is true for you?

RP: It certainly feels nostalgic in that sense; a lot of our early interactions come from objects that are readily available to us. I remember those activities as a child: tracing a fallen leaf, making a tree bark rubbing or sketching a landscape. There is such a simple beauty in the act of studying the intricacies and the details of these natural objects. These early experiences I truly believe are vital for children and young people to learn to interact with nature, and take the time to observe and connect with our natural surroundings. This idea in the present day feels ever-more important, as we disconnect further and further away from our natural surroundings and onto digital screens.

I feel like a lot of what I aim to achieve in my work is to marry the natural world with the digital world. We know that intrinsically we need to connect to green, plant life and animals, and that psychologically we are affected by our environment.

INT: What would you say this idea of Rewilding Creativity means to you?

RP: The idea of Rewilding Creativity really resonates with me and my work. I take inspiration almost solely from the natural world, and from patterns and colours found in nature. I tend to hyper-focus on particular plants or species and find inspiration in every small moment. I’ve always had a deep connection to the natural world from growing up in the countryside, and was brought up to believe that nature simply must be celebrated. Bringing to attention all of nature’s beauty and horror allows us to find great appreciation in all the wonders it provides.

It’s Nice That: Could you tell us about your relationship with BBC Earth prior to this project?

Tami Aftab: I’ve always been inspired by BBC Earth programmes; from the exciting and dramatic scenes from Planet Earth, to the mystical and beautiful shots from Frozen Planet. The ability to access nature through these shows is incredible.

I think the opportunity to witness nature, in a way most would never have otherwise seen, creates more awareness and empathy for our planet and encourages us.

INT: Your series for Rewilding Creativity features your very own garden. Tell us about this space and the time you and your family spend there?

TA: The garden is based in Molesey, Surrey. The area is surrounded by amazing greenery – considering its proximity to London – from Bushy Park to Richmond Park, and even down to the local heath our garden luckily backs onto. I have lots of memories from our family garden, particularly summer barbecues with all my family eating my dad’s amazing Pakistani food. We’d lay blankets and cushions on the grass, and stay there until sunset.

My parents grow a lot of flowers, alongside the herb garden they made from a wheelbarrow found on the street. They’re definitely interested in growing vegetables soon too. My mum is very creative with how she curates the garden. This summer, she decorated the tree by wrapping it with lightweight, colourful fabrics from Pakistan to brighten up the space. She also found branches while walking the dog to bring home and paint.

INT: What would you say this concept of Rewilding Creativity means to you personally?

TA: To me, Rewilding Creativity means to use what’s around you and make the best of it – even if it’s as simple as painting onto the pebbles you find at the beach. Nature is where I return to whenever I am stuck, whether that’s in work or in life. By working with nature, I’m reminded that I’m no different to the earth than the flowers and the trees.

INT: A key aspect of this collaboration with BBC Earth is to facilitate open conversations around climate change. What are the ways you feel creating artworks can elevate important topics such as this?

TA: I find photography, and art in general, always comes from a place which is personal and emotional. In seeing topics translated visually, people around the globe are able to relate to the subject and interpret it in their own way.

Therefore, creating artworks about climate change will help to connect others to issues on a more personal level, rather than the often objective and apathetic words we read on the news. I think even just capturing the beauty of nature, as BBC Earth does with its shows, can make us start to value the privilege we have existing on this planet.

Over time, it just crept in. I think this was partly because I used to live in quite a built up area when I graduated university. Access to nature was limited, and therefore became more precious to me. Parks became my favourite places and I’d notice how much better I’d feel for being in them. So, maybe depicting the natural world was partly escapism. I also just started caring less about what was trendy and trusting what I was naturally drawn to.

Now it’s a constant in my work in so many ways; it’s an endless source of inspiration in the form of colours, shapes and composition. But it also acts as a metaphor in my work. There’s so much to draw from in terms of storytelling because it's living. It’s constantly changing and therefore feels like it’s full of characters and narratives.

INT: Could you tell us about your relationship with BBC Earth prior to this project?

CA: I think BBC Earth’s programmes help us to connect to a larger sense of nature, which is important because we have to be reminded that the way we live our lives impacts the lives of plants and creatures worldwide. If we didn’t have this insight and direct footage, it might be easier to forget the interconnectedness of our planet. But it allows us to feel empathy for creatures and habitats from around the world, and therefore care about what happens to them.

INT: Can you tell us how you developed the idea for your works, particularly around concentrating on one specific place revisited?

CA: I often like returning to places because, particularly in natural environments, so much changes. I used to always want to draw in new places – always wanting something fresh and exciting. But I’ve found there’s so much enjoyment from observing how the spaces around you change. Every hour of the day is different because of the light, of the people in the space, of the way you walk around it.

We don’t always need to travel across the world to be inspired by places, we just have to look a bit more. I wanted to show that, in this series, we can constantly draw from what’s around us if we give it more of our time.

INT: A key aspect of this collaboration with BBC Earth is to facilitate open conversations around climate change. What are the ways you feel creating artworks can elevate important topics such as this?

CA: I think artworks can find empathic ways to connect to people, they can sometimes offer ways into topics that seem huge and scary. Sometimes they connect emotionally in a way other mediums can’t, they can instantly draw you in and feel accessible.

With climate change, sometimes the rhetoric is so scary that it freezes us into inaction. Of course we naturally feel scared at the colossal challenge we face, but we need other emotions to steer us into action. We need joy and we need hope. Artworks can help us feel these things, reminding us about the delicate balance we find ourselves in.