Share

cover art for Hannah Lees (National Parks x BMW Special Episode)

Talk Art

Hannah Lees (National Parks x BMW Special Episode)

Season 16, Ep. 6

Welcome to this very special edition of Talk Art brought to you by "The Recharge in Nature Project", a three-year collaboration between National Parks UK and BMW. Our guest for today is the extremely talented Hannah Lees, a Margate-based artist whose art is deeply influenced by the beauty of nature, its landscapes, discarded treasures and sustainability.


Hannah's artistic vision aligns seamlessly with The Recharge in Nature Project's mission, which aims to promote nature restoration, biodiversity, wellbeing, and accessibility. This initiative seeks to improve the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in and around our National Parks, making it more convenient for visitors to use an electric car while exploring the great outdoors. In this episode we delve into Hannah's work, her personal background, and the inspiration behind her creations.


Hannah Lees’ work encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, textiles, ceramics, internet art, performance, writing, sound and video.

Lees investigates ideas of cycles: constancy and mortality; the sense that things come to an end and the potential for new beginnings.

This constancy, be it in religion, science, history or in organic matter, is visible in her practice through her attempts to make sense of and recognise traces of life.

Through appreciating this, her work is focused towards an understanding of the essential nature of the materials she uses.


Visit: https://www.hannahlees.com/

Follows @hannahjlees


Hannah Lees' solo show 'Not now not anymore' opens at Roland Ross, 11.03.23 - 29.05.23

Preview: 11.03.23 2-5pm Follow: @rolyross


To discover more about the Recharge in Nature Project, visit bmw.co.uk/NationalParks


"...Not really now, not anymore... For what does the phrase point to 

if not a fatal temporality? No now, not any more, not really. Does this 

mean that the present has eroded, disappeared - no now any more?

Are we in the time of the always-already, where the future has been 

written; in which case it is not the future not really"


p91, Mark Fisher "The Weird And The Eerie" 2016 Pub. Repeater Books, London, UK


Please join us for the opening of Not Now Not Anymore at 174-176 

Hither Green Lane where Hannah Lees will present a series of new 

tablet works that combine beach combed objects with the elements of 

mica dust and rust converted iron powder, to create a kind of alchemy, 

embedded in plaster forms that are reminiscent of ancient artefacts. 

The works alternate between exploring circularity and linearity, 

at times following a process by which objects are permanently 

transformed and reactivated as painterly abstractions.


Roland Ross | 174-176 Hither Green Lane, London SE13 6QB

By appointment only Fri-Sat 12-4pm


More episodes

View all episodes

  • 1. Introducing Talk Art

    39:25
    Welcome to Talk Art! Actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament discuss how they first became friends a decade ago, plus more recent adventures at Frieze Art Fair, the Turner Prize, South London Gallery and other exhibition highlights in London, as well as Robert's gallery relocating to the seaside town of Margate, Kent.
  • 2. Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE

    01:05:51
    Russell & Robert talk with leading artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE exploring 50 years of art-making. From his early 1960s work as a conceptual artist culminating in the seminal ‘An Oak Tree’ (1973) through to more recent decades as an internationally-renowned painter, sculptor and printmaker as well as his influential role as a teacher to two generations of Young British Artists at Goldsmiths.
  • 3. Pedro Pascal

    01:00:02
    Russell & Robert talk with leading actor Pedro Pascal, star of Narcos, Game of Thrones and forthcoming Star Wars 'The Mandalorian'. They discuss his favourite artist, a classic painting on display at Museum of Modern Art that offered Pedro comfort when he moved to New York in the mid 1990s, as well as his more recent art experiences at Tate Modern and Frieze Art Fair whilst filming in London for his latest movie Wonder Woman 1984.
  • 4. Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman

    53:37
    We celebrate the holidays with two dear friends, the actresses Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman (both stars of The Job Lot comedy sitcom with Russell). Topics include Olafur Eliasson’s melting ice installation highlighting climate change, Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrored room, the paintings of LS Lowry, Beryl Cook, Picasso and Ed Ruscha. Plus we discover which guest once pole danced for Madonna! Happy Christmas everyone. We will return in Spring 2019 with a weekly season. Love Russell and Robert X
  • 5. Louisa Buck

    50:02
    Robert & Russell chat with leading British art critic and author Louisa Buck, columnist for the Art Newspaper and a judge of the Turner Prize in 2005. They explore how the art world has evolved since the 1980s and 90s, discover which artwork Grayson Perry made as a commission to commemorate the birth of Louisa's daughter as well as revealing the best, and very worst, interviews she's conducted. Happy International Women's Day!
  • 6. Martin Creed

    01:00:57
    Robert & Russell meet legendary artist and ‘poet of the everyday’ Martin Creed (and his dog Jimmy). Find out why this Turner Prize winner doesn’t read reviews of his own work, who his favourite comedians are and how music has informed his art. We delve deep into Creed’s creative output spanning more than 30 years. From a giant kinetic sculpture with the word MOTHERS lit up in neon, a live performance where athletes run through the Tate as fast as they can, to a more recent handmade textile work: a multicoloured neck-warmer (worn by the artist during this very interview).
  • 7. Sadie Coles

    46:12
    Robert & Russell meet gallerist Sadie Coles, one of the world’s most respected and successful art dealers. Discover why she set up her gallery in London after managing Jeff Koons’ studio in New York in the mid 1990s; how she first discovered the work of Sarah Lucas and John Currin; the skill of representing new artists on the primary market and the importance of taking a longterm view. We discuss feminism and equality in the workplace and why it's good to be collegiate. Finally we explore childhood trips to visit Tutankhamun at the British Museum, a memorable performance by mime artist/choreographer Lindsay Kemp and a pivotal Nancy Grossman exhibition.
  • 8. Tracey Emin CBE

    01:07:57
    Robert & Russell meet Tracey Emin CBE, one of the world’s most respected, successful and controversial artists. During an hour-long private tour of her current solo exhibition ‘A Fortnight of Tears’, we explore her mother’s recent death, grief, everlasting love, the supernatural, insomnia and abortion. Tracey reveals that nature is one of her biggest influences and how working in a small South of France studio enabled the artist to wholeheartedly and triumphantly return to painting. Learn more about her longterm connection to the work of Edvard Munch, her return to her childhood hometown of Margate and why, surprisingly, she doesn’t keep a diary. For images of all works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!
  • 9. Ryan Gander OBE

    56:50
    Russell & Robert chat to leading conceptual artist Ryan Gander OBE. We explore artist persona, designing a kitchen sink, family ties, the soul of objects and why his art has been so commercially successful in Japan. Ryan reveals how a limited edition Rolex watch transformed into an artwork, why he worked with glow-in-the-dark concrete, the importance of empathy and why we should all ‘let the world take a turn'. For images of works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt. Ryan’s new BBC Four documentary ‘Me, My Selfie and I’ is available to view on iPlayer until mid April 2019. Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!