Jake Lever

Geographies of Hope - Mapping human connection in a time of pandemic

Geographies of Hope is an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional initiative aiming to move the narrative of geographical study towards hope for the future.  The first conference was held at the University of Cambridge in 2019 and this year ‘s conference was held at UCL Department of Geography on  25 May. The event brought together an array of speakers from a diverse range of disciplines including artist-researchers Lucy Sabin and Dr Sabrina Chou, Professor Emma Mawdsley, writer Anita Sethi, architect John Christophers and myself.

In my presentation I outlined how I have engaged with the archetype of the boat in recent years, before discussing Do the Little Things, a global participatory postal project that I developed during the pandemic. The artwork sought to animate threads of human connection at a time when relationships were painfully compromised by social distancing, travel bans and the limitations of screen-based communication. Lastly I explored how art practice can generate hope through fostering human connection, highlighting our interdependence and inspiring us to be emotionally present to each other.  I ended with the words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes which, although written 20 years ago, seem so apt for our times; 

“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires … causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to
show mercy toward others, both — are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.”

Gillian Lever

Studio Practice

I am loving this time of year. The light has been beautiful in May and I have been very active in the studio. The garden is always an inspiration, the the flowers are singing. I am excited to be developing some new paintings for exhibitions later in the year. More news to follow.