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Into the woods: Leah Wood discusses the art of slowing down
By Lysanne Currie | 14 October 2025 | Arts, Design
With a new exhibition exploring the changing seasons, Tracing Time, set to debut at the Roof Gardens, artist and environmental activist Leah Wood discusses the art of slowing down
Written by Lysanne Currie and Ali Cattrall
It’s the day of the autumn equinox and artist Leah Wood is sitting in her countryside home talking, appropriately, about the seasons and how they inspired – and guided – her new exhibition, Tracing Time.
“I’m really excited,” says Leah. “[The exhibition] has taken me two years, because it’s gone through the seasons. From winter to spring, summer, autumn, and then back to winter.”
The show, a collaboration with her friend, actor and fellow artist Jemma Powell, is to be held at the Roof Gardens, Kensington, from 16-29 October during Frieze London. The work explores the relationship between urban and natural environments and how they shape our perceptions of time and emotion.
The project came from Leah’s desire to do something slow and immersive – a counterpoint to the world’s relentless pace. From Tim Burton-esque winter trees to delicate summer roses, and the intricate poppy capsules left behind, her work invites viewers to slow down and appreciate the beauty and subtlety of the changing natural world.
“I wanted to trace the seasons in the countryside,” says Leah. “I’ve never done that before, and it takes time because you actually have to work with Mother Nature. You have to be patient – especially in this day and age where everything is now, now, now. Sometimes winter lasts three or four months. You’ve got to pay attention to what’s happening with the trees, with the landscape, to really understand that moment in time.”
PAINTING THE PLANET
For Leah, art is a refuge. “As an artist, I go to my art to decompress. I spend hours in the studio painting, losing track of time,” she says. “But I learned that I like working outside. In winter, it was, ‘How quickly can I do this?’ But when spring and summer came, I’d get my shorts on, drag the canvases out and take my time.”
Light, she says, changes everything. “In springtime, the light was completely different from summer. Painting in the garden, the dappled light came through the trees at two in the afternoon, so you’d have to work quickly. Just yesterday, the light was amazing. I was picking up my daughter and looked across the countryside at five in the afternoon – it was like a Turner painting. I thought, ‘This is why I’m happy to be alive.’”
Previous exhibitions have included 2022’s One Planet, One Chance, highlighting the climate crisis, while she regularly collaborates with sustainable brands and charities including Sky Diamonds and Sea Shepherd. In addition to her own showcases, Leah also has some major commissions under her belt, including hand-painting more than 100 lifelike English butterflies on the terrace of Mandarin Oriental Hotel, London.
Her art, which combines traditional oils and materials such as cling film (to draw attention to plastic pollution), typically focuses on nature and endangered species – such as Minerva, the Amur tiger at Woburn Safari Park, which she painted for this year’s National Tiger Day.
The daughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Leah credits a grounded upbringing and extensive travelling for shaping her perspective – and aims to keep her own children, Maggie and Otis, similarly ‘earthed’ amid a world of screens.
“Kids have to start looking outward at the beauty around them,” she says. “I try and get them walking with the dogs, into nature, so they see why mummy does what she does.” Leah moved to Sydney, Australia for three years shortly after graduating from Chelsea College of Art and Design. Her time living in Sydney left her ever grateful for the UK’s rhythm. “We’re very lucky in this country to have the seasons. I spent three years in Australia and missed the English seasons so much.”
INTO THE ZONE
Like most artists, Leah describes herself as her “own worst critic – my husband [Jack MacDonald] tells me to be proud, but I haven’t done enough yet, I need to do more. I want to push my boundaries; see how far I can go.” Still, nothing matches the thrill of seeing her work connect. “I still get a buzz when my art sells. When my piece sold at The Future is Female [2024 mixed exhibition], I cried.”
In addition to Tracing Time, Leah and Jemma are collaborating with TimeGivers – a West London-based charity that partners with schools to integrate volunteering into education, helping to empower young people aged 4-18 to engage with their local communities and develop practical skills – and St Lawrence Primary School to create a permanent mural in Feltham Park. As part of this, 10% of the profits from Tracing Time will also go to TimeGivers.
Meanwhile, Leah has plans to create “10 or 12 canvases for an ocean charity in Africa”, and is set to launch a collaboration with fine jeweller India Mahon, whose contemporary collection utilises sustainable and ethically-sourced materials, later this year.
Now, as autumn sets in, Leah is continuing her goal to connect with nature and the seasons by getting ready to harvest apples and plums with her mum, Jo Wood. Soon, she says, it will be time to: “Light the candles, get out the soup, like the Nordics do. In the UK, we need to embrace Hygge – that feeling of a big hug when you finally come in from the cold.”