Woven Skin

Project

300801

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS: existing completed examples

Project title

Woven Skin

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Description

Woven Skin was an nomadic art installation by artist Claudy Jongstra. Jongstra is an internationally acclaimed Dutch artist specializing in tapestries and textile art installations. The beauty of nature, raw resources and historical knowledge inspire Jongstra to bring a sense of beauty and belonging into public spaces. Over the past 20 years, Jongstra has built an artistic practice intertwined with Dutch cultural heritage and the natural cycle of her local environment in rural Friesland.

What was the geographical scope of your project?

Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?

Does your project refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Has your project won an EU prize?

Your project is fully completed?

When was your project implemented?

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Please provide a summary of your project

Woven Skin was an art installation by artist Claudy Jongstra. Jongstra is an internationally acclaimed Dutch artist specializing in tapestries and textile art installations. The beauty of nature, raw resources and historical knowledge inspire Jongstra to bring a sense of beauty and belonging into public spaces. Over the past 20 years, Jongstra has built an artistic practice intertwined with Dutch cultural heritage and the natural cycle of her local environment in rural Friesland. Native Drenthe Heath sheep and a biodynamic dye garden provide both the material and inspirational foundations of her oeuvre.

Woven Skin was an installation made from felt and steel, that was shown at several location all over the world. It revealed a complex natural dye palette on its labyrinthine surface. The rich Dutch history of color entered into dialogue with contemporary issues of biodiversity, community, and dissemination of knowledge, particularly in relation to art-making and agricultural practices. The work aimed to forge a direct link to cultural and political events and enabled an international and multidisciplinary dialogue between the audience, politicians, artists and scientists. The large-scale installation aimed to be an inspiration and call for a cultural change on the way we use our environment. At each new location the installation adapted to different surroundings and a variety of pressing issues. It has been exhibited at events such as the 2018 Climate Week of the New York City climate summit, at the Manifesta 12 in Palermo and at the “waste NO waste” manifestation in Groningen.

The nomadic pavilion provided the setting for a series of dialogues which posed questions such as: who will step up to stop the destruction of planet earth? What are the alternatives that today's art practice can provide for more sustainable way of living? What can we learn from historical crafts on how to relate to climate and use of material.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability (including circularity) and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

Claudy Jongstra artistic practice is all about sustainability. Whether it is the ancient technique of making wool felt, maintaining her flock of rare, indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep (the oldest breed in Northern Europe) or the cultivating a specialized dyers' botanical collection garden, Jongstra creates a completely sustainable chain culminating in her artworks. As Jongstra’s artistic practice expands, so too does the impact on her region. Collaborating with local farms, schools, and social programs, and drawing on a deep respect for the interwoven narratives of people, land, and tacit knowledge, Jongstra actively reimagines and revitalizes the local landscape from monocultural production toward a more diverse, inclusive, and ecologically-just model.

Woven Skin is created in such a matter, with the added activist message on how human man-kind is dealing with nature. The travelling and installing of the works were carefully done with finding the most sustainable way, either by train or electronic vehicle.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

Woven Skin creates a visceral landscape of texture and colour. The work is a sculptural installation which has a strong connection with its physical space. Using a surprising range of natural materials and techniques, Jongstra’s distinctive approach involves a inquiry into the mysteries of dye crops and natural pigments from which her intense nuances of colours are crafted. With deep connections with her surroundings as vital elements for the production of her work and sustainability at the center of her philosophy and working process, Jongstra is committed to the preservation and activation of natural and cultural heritage.

Jongstra’s studio, practice and work embody the interconnectedness of the natural world. A specialized dyers’ botanical research garden and a flock of rare indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep are cared for by Jongstra and her team and serve as the primary sources for her materials. The sheep provide the wool, which is then treated with natural dyes made from plants grown in her garden. Woven Skin is fabricated and dyed with a historic color, Burgundian Black, based in indigo and often seen in the clothing of men and women in Dutch Renaissance paintings. Jongstra and a group of scholars have been researching how to recreate this color with natural dyes for several years. It has varying tonalities and textures and — with careful lighting — the deep, dark indigo will be complemented by subtle shades of red, blue and other pigments.

This elaborate way of working shows the depth of her work. It is not just a pretty picture but research and experiments how to deal with nature - both in the contemporary and historical context - are reflected in the final work. This is what makes Woven Skin exemplary.

 

 

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion (equal opportunities, public participation, citizen engagement, co-design, universal design, accessibility, affordability, etc.) and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

In all her works Claudy Jongstra collaborates with local farms, schools, and social programs, and drawing on a deep respect for the interwoven narratives of people, land, and tacit knowledge, Jongstra actively reimagines and revitalizes the local landscape from monocultural production toward a more diverse, inclusive, and ecologically-just model. For Woven Skin a series of lectures and debates was organised at every venue, each time related to the local issues with local speakers. In this way Woven Skin can be exemplary since it aims to be a universal work - understood in every culture - but with local connections.

Please explain how these three dimensions have been combined in your project.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary

For Claudy Jongstra her work is never an isolated thing, wheter it connects to buildings or artistic interventions. Connecting with nature, history and cultural history requires permanent study, not only from in an academica way but in a social way. "I want to learn from the persons I work with and work for", Jongstra says. "Reversely I hope that they also want to learn together with me. Then the strongest impact can be made in education, science, culture, healthcare, politics and above all the evironment".

Jongstra never creates art pour l’art, no, but art with a mission, eventhough it has breathtaking aestetics, always working with natural materials. With flowers from her garden, dye wool and linen, in big pots on open fire of wood we gathered ourselves. Jongstra believes people have lost a direct connection with nature and that they miss social structures. They are astounded to see how culture is created from nature. They have busy lifes, great careers, but they feel a huge emptiness around them: caused by superficiality, of agitated consumption. But her work is not a retro movement. The art is precisely to create new things from old knowledge and craft. Jongstra runs a company in Spannum with seven employees and about fifteen freelancers.

In her practice, Jongstra works with local biological farmes, woodworkers and beekeepers. All these contributors have an amazing amount of knowledge: botanical knowledge, craft knowledge, cultural knowledge. All this is generated into the works and that energy also surfaces in Woven Skin.

 

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

Woven Skin was shown in several cities around the world, such as the 2018 Climate Week of the New York City climate summit, at the Manifesta 12 in Palermo and at the “waste NO waste” manifestation in Groningen. In all the cities it set up a space for dialogue and discussion about environmental issues. Main topics that were discussed were questions such as: who will step up to stop the destruction of planet earth? What are the alternatives that today's art practice can provide for more sustainable way of living? But above all, how can we reconnect with nature through art. The participating speakers all urged local politicians, policy makers and other type of decisionmakers to urge action in relation to climate crisis.

Please explain how citizens and civil society were involved in the in the design and/or implementation of the project.
Please also explain the benefits that derived from their involvement.

In all her works Claudy Jongstra collaborates with local farms, schools, and social programs, and drawing on a deep respect for the interwoven narratives of people, land, and tacit knowledge, Jongstra actively reimagines and revitalizes the local landscape from monocultural production toward a more diverse, inclusive, and ecologically-just model. For Woven Skin a series of lectures and debates was organised at every venue, each time related to the local issues with local speakers. In this way Woven Skin can be exemplary since it aims to be a universal work - understood in every culture - but with local connections.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addressed by providing local solutions

Climate change is the number one global challenge, not only now but it has been for decades. Jongstra's work addresses this, on both a local and global level. Her work is a celebration of local materials, resources, local context, and tradition. The process does not come without its costs and is quite laborious. For Jongstra and her team only a few large-scale pieces are made in one year. Madder root, for example, produced only in the Netherlands, takes five years to grow and two years to make the dye. These ways of dealing with material showcase that she is serious about a material, and if you are, you need to understand its connection to the environment. This is the main sollution that Jongstra provides with Woven Skin. Showcasing the depth and attention to material, all from natural resources. This is what Jongstra urges everybody to do and should be the main local solutions that she is providing.

Please highlight the innovative character of the project as compared to mainstream practices in the field of the project.

Innovation is often interpreted as something technological and futuristic. Jongstra's work is the opposite. Her work is deeply rooted in old craft techniques transfered to the present. The art is precisely to create new things from old knowledge and craft. Futhermore it is not limited to a small audience of art experts. Jongstra always brings her works to the large public, showcasing not only at museums but also at festivals and open spaces. The innovative aspect of the work is exactly that: adapting sustainable techniques of the past to future works to raise awareness about climate change, and bringing this to a large audience.

Please explain to the potential of transferring the projects’ results or learnings to other interested parties and contexts.
Please provide clear documentation, communication of methodology and principles in this context.

Jongstra's working method is not an academic one, but a learning practice by doing and experiences. The main aim is to engage the audience into the work and the message so that they will become more aware of dealing with naature in their day to day life. This engaging is achieved by the beautiful display and use of material. There is not a methodological theoretical idea behind the works, merely a straighforward powerful message translated into a beautiful and impressive artwork. With this, Jongstra hopes to receive an audience that is diverse and intergenerational.

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