Archived press release

Britains leading landscape artist calls for a stronger Climate Change Bill

9 January 2008

Kurt Jackson, one of the UK's premier landscape artists, is once again supporting Friends of the Earth by donating the proceeds from the sale of two of his paintings to the environmental charity [1]. A forthcoming exhibition and sale at Messum's Fine Art Gallery in London will feature a series of stunning land and seascapes featuring Cornish lighthouses and demonstrate Kurt's passion for protecting the world he paints in [2]. Kurt is also supporting Friends of the Earth's call for a strong Climate Change Law to be passed by the Government [3].

Kurt says "I am delighted to be supporting Friends of the Earth once again. They have successfully led The Big Ask campaign for a Climate Change Bill which is now before Parliament. The Bill is vital for our environmental heritage but it needs to be strengthened if it is to protect our landscapes from the dangers of climate change."

Kurt, the landscape artist of choice for many celebrities, is immensely proud of his work as an environmentalist. He lives in a low-carbon home and believes passionately in protecting the environment that he loves [4].

He adds: "Painting is my way of expressing my concern for the planet. If I can use art to get across the fundamental message that we all have to protect this world, then I feel that I am making a difference. It is crucial that our unique and valuable landscapes are preserved for future generations."

When he works Kurt immerses himself in the world around him. He regularly paints large canvases out on the Cornish cliff tops, weighing them down with granite boulders.

Kurt continues: "When out painting I can see how climate patterns are changing and how this is affecting our environment both on the coastline and in-land. Our coastline is our protection from rising sea-levels. The lighthouses represent more than just a warning for shipping. They are beacons for climate change as they will inevitably be the first to witness the predicted sea-level rises. Unless we all do something to combat climate change huge areas of our beautiful coastline could disappear."

Tony Juniper, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth commented: "We are immensely grateful that Kurt Jackson has yet again shown his support for Friends of the Earth and our campaign for a Climate Change Bill. By so generously donating the proceeds from the sale of two of these stunning landscapes Kurt is a true champion of the environment."

Notes

[1] Kurt Jackson has been a member of Friends of the Earth since he was a teenager. Since 1999 Kurt has been a resident artist at Glastonbury Festival, painting musicians such as Pete Doherty and members of Coldplay, Oasis and Radiohead, whose lead singer Thom Yorke is a Friends of the Earth ambassador. The work Kurt produces is auctioned off for environmental charities at the end of the festival.

[2] In his "The Lights of West Cornwall" exhibition at Messum's Fine Art Gallery, 16 January to 2 February 2008, Kurt explores the beauty and power of the seas around West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly from the unique perspective of the light house keeper. Kurt uses panoramas of Britain's spectacular and treacherous coastlines to reiterate the threats to our shoreline from climate change.

[3] Following a campaign led by Friends of the Earth through The Big Ask climate campaign

(www.thebigask.com), the Government agreed to introduce a new law to tackle climate change. This will be the first national legislation anywhere in the world to set legally-binding targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. Friends of the Earth says it must be strengthened to ensure a cut of at least 80 per cent in emissions by 2050, to include pollution from Britain's share of international aviation and shipping, and to set annual milestones to ensure that we stay on track.

[4] In 2006 the Government announced that it wants all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016. Kurt is one step ahead of the Prime Minister. His home and studio in Penwith, West Cornwall are carbon free zones. Kurt and his wife Caroline generate all the required energy for the family home from a wind turbine and a bank of photovoltaics in the garden, as well as a heat-exchange pump bored deep into the earth under the house. Excess power is fed back into the National Grid. They grow most of their own vegetables and have built a fresh-water, eco-friendly pond in a field near their home.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust