Guernica de la Ecología

Museum Kranenburgh is exhibiting the room-filling work Guernica de la Ecología by artist and eco-activist Claudy Jongstra. With her wool artwork, the artist takes a stand against a careless world that treats the earth with indifference. A world that threatens biodiversity and causes the disappearance of, for example, the dye plants that enable wool to be colored naturally. An indictment translated into angry swirling shades of black, white, and sepia gray. With the title of her work, Jongstra refers to the iconic Guernica that Pablo Picasso painted in 1937 as an indictment of the violence of war during the Spanish Civil War. However different the indictments of the two artists may be, both works lack any color and therefore have the same threatening atmosphere.

Claudy Jongstra mainly uses wool from a flock of Drenthe heath sheep in her art. She extracts the dye she uses to color the wool from plants she grows in a biodynamic garden in Friesland and, on a larger scale, together with biodynamic farmers from the Beersche Hoeve in Brabant. As a result, her often monumental works are not only a call for the preservation of biodiversity, but also a warm plea for craftsmanship. Above all, she wants her work to encourage self-reflection and action: how do you contribute to a sustainable relationship with nature? Can we ‘weave’ change together?

Guernica de la Ecología is a traveling work of art, with which Jongstra seeks to connect with local ecology and craftsmanship. Museum Kranenburgh ties in with this theme with, among other things, an extensive program of activities for children, young people, and adults, and a studio installation in the villa entitled Forgotten Colors. Here, not only do Jongstra’s traditional working methods and the forgotten colors of nature come to life, but you can also get to work yourself with wool, a carding machine, and a loom. Click here for all workshops.

Claudy Jongstra

Claudy Jongstra (1963) studied fashion design at the Utrecht School of the Arts. She is best known for her monumental artworks and architectural installations made from felted wool. In addition to sustainability, biodiversity, and ecology, her work also focuses on craftsmanship, inclusivity, and community building. In addition to numerous installations in public buildings in the Netherlands and worldwide, her artworks can be found in private, corporate, and museum collections such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, MoMA (New York, San Francisco), and the V&A (London).