Aristotle devised the scala naturæ, a hierarchical ordering of nature: at the top are the gods, below them are the humans, then the animals, the plants, and finally the inanimate objects. This chain formed the basis for the view on nature from classical antiquity through the Middle Ages. To this day, people are still placed at the top of the chain, decisions are made that seem to be primarily in the interests of mankind. In the exhibition 'Bloom' Sophie Steengracht, Jonat Deelstra and Matt de Groot pay tribute to nature. In the work on display it is shown that a spiritual, animistic or symbolic meaning ca be given to animals, plants and other natural phenomena. In this way the artists hope to reduce the emotional gap between man and nature. They respond to both the classical worldview and clinical science.
Jonat Deelstra (1991) drew inspiration for his new series of paintings from "animal" urges. His new paintings series is teeming with naked human figures who, on the one hand, preach about improving the world and, on the other, are fighting or tearing down their surroundings.
Matt Chaim de Groot (1969) shows his series 'Shiv`at Wradej Saba' consisting of seven roses. From Judaism, seven is a sacred number: the earth was created in seven days. Matt: "Each flower in this series symbolizes different phases of growth, flowering and decay.
Something that we as humans don't escape either." Matt works with photographs that he captures into epoxy. By placing several photos in a row, he creates depth. He teaches his unconventional techniques at the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam. The series 'Sjiv`at Wradej Saba' was previously shown at Unseen 2021 and at the AMC in Amsterdam.
During her childhood Sophie Steengracht (1991) was surrounded by animals and nature. Transformations and the symbolic relationships between man and nature are a common thread in her work. She is inspired by the processes in nature. In 2021 Steengracht laid out a biodynamic garden in which she grows and studies plants, draws and photographs them. She also uses pigment from her garden. Sophie: "I use the plants - all of their parts - in artworks in which an animistic perspective is important. In the drawings I depict landscapes in which the plants, stones, water and planets have a soul. I long for a general perception, in which man is a link in processes of nature, rather than ruler of his environment."