Because of the corona pandemic, there is a renewed interest in nature. And that is a gppd thing: to combat the climate crisis, all awareness is much needed.
Artists Jonat Deelstra and Sophie Steengracht - both where shown at art fair Art Rotterdam, July 1 - 4 - go one step further: Sophie Steengracht created her own pigment garden for a more sustainable painting process and Jonat Deelstra devised a new way of burying human remains to let corals in the North Sea flourish.
In their works on sustainability and innovation, they continually ask the question, ''How do we make the world a better place?''
Sophie Steengracht (1991, Utrecht) paints, draws and etches the beauty of nature. Processes such as growth, evolution, decay and rebirth are a source of inspiration for her. This fascination goes hand in hand with great concern for the future of nature. In a magical way, she wants to show that it is worth it to treat nature respectfully and consciously.
Steengracht created a garden in March 2020 (with support by the Mondriaan Fund) with plants from which she obtains pigments for her paintings and drawings. By maintaining her garden, she encourages biodiversity and provides a habitat for bees.
During the exhibition, there are screening days, saturday 18 and sunday 19 July, where visitors can use VR glasses to watch the different seasons in her pigment garden.
In doing so, Steengracht makes her working method transparent and hopes to spur others to action.
Steengracht studied graphic arts at the Scuola Lorenzo Medici in Florence. She then graduated in Fine Arts from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 2015. Here she developed her autonomous style. She is affiliated with collective 'The Earth Issue' in London, there artists put nature and the environment at the center of their work.
Steengracht won the 'Van Vlissingen Art Foundation Grant' in 2018 for this she made a trip to Manu National Park in the southern Andes of Peru and was inspired by the enormous biodiversity in this rainforest.
In addition, Steengracht was part of the MIAP foundation's open call 'Future of Nature' in 2020.
Jonat Deelstra (Haarlem, 1991) shows ceramic sculptures and oil paintings in his series 'Funeral Home the North Sea'. The series presents a futuristic and imaginative take on the burial of human remains: "Due to an increasingly warmer climate, an enormous amount of coral may grow in the North Sea over the next hundred years. But because the sea has been fished bare, these organisms cannot settle. By placing structures in the sea, we can ensure the rebirth of biodiversity.''
In 2006, the first wind turbines were placed in the North Sea. In these areas, trawling over the bottom is no longer allowed. Deelstra wants to place the ceramic urns in this area so coral can attach to these structures. In this way, this burial ritual acts as a nursery for the underwater nature.
'Funeral Home the North Sea' is a continuation of the 'Progress and Prosperity' series, a project about economic gain on nature, such as the deforestation of the Amazon.
Deelstra has been living and working in Amsterdam for over ten years. In 2018, he received his Bachelor's degree in Illustration from the HKU. Since then, he has worked mainly as a painter, but also grabs new materials. Thus he makes drawings, woodcuts, animations, ceramic work and builds at installations.
The paintings of Jonat Deelstra have magical realistic features. They seem alienating and ominous. He finds his inspiration in other cultures and religions: 'I need the supernatural. I have a need to know the mystery of human existence.'
Deelstra is included in several private and corporate collections. In addition, he has participated in several residencies such as GinDS, the Opium Atelier and Broedplaats Bogota and was featured at the Krona Museum in Uden in 2020 with his installation 'People'.