Exhibition Claudy Jongstra

until August 29th 2021

• Book your ticket online.
• Download the L@kenhal-App and listen to the audio tour with comedian and writer Vincent Bijlo, perfume maker Yeva Swart, meditation teacher Eveline Brandt and Claudy Jongstra herself
• See what activities have been developed especially for this exhibition.
  

Claudy Jongstra is much at once: visual artist, shepherd, farmer and activist. Her sculptural works travel the world and have a signature of their own. By going back to the origins of wool, weaving and color, Jongstra makes her audience reflect on the interaction between man and nature. In the exhibition Claudy Jongstra Museum De Lakenhal connects all these facets in a sensory experience.

New work

Jongstra made new works especially for Museum De Lakenhal: NINE and Cosmic Cry which together form an installation. NINE is the largest woven work Jongstra has ever made and flows through the space like an earthly landscape. In doing so Jongstra places a critical note on monoculture and landscapes filled with solar panels.

Also Woven Skin (2018) can be seen in the Netherlands for the first time after a world tour. A nomadic work that radiates urgency, an indictment against the exhaustion of our earth. The felted rags look like skinned skins and refer to the loss of our protection.

Natural connection

Wool is the logical connection between the oeuvre of Claudy Jongstra and the world famous 'Leids Laken'. The characteristic deep black and blue colors of these fabrics are reflected in NINE and Cosmic Cry. Jongstra uses pigments from self-grown indigo, beta and madder plants. In the second part of the exhibition the historical permanent collection and Jongstra's current works enter into dialogue with each other. Leiden's textile history is linked to Jongstra's own research into sources, samples and materials.

Sensory experience

Sensory perception is essential for Jongstra. By using more senses, people are open to new experiences. Jongstra's works evoke that sense through their texture, scent and deep, natural colors. Especially for the exhibition Jongstra also developed a scent, inspired by the night and the deep blue and black tones.

Initiatives

As part of Jongstra's project Community Seed Bank for Colour, there is a collaboration with the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden for the development of area-specific woad. In this way Jongstra's cultivated woad will become a descendant of her crop in Friesland. The plants were sown this spring and used as pigment for the wool in the plants. It makes Jongstra's vision visible and tangible.

The exhibition is also the kick-off for Jongstra's project Extended Ground: a pamphlet for the rediscovery of craft and the connection between agricultural, care and educational organizations.

Behind the scenes with Claudy Jongstra

a film by Marit Geluk

For a year, filmmaker Marit Geluk followed artist and activist Claudy Jongstra. We see her at her farm, in Museum De Lakenhal and during the preparations for her exhibition.

Panelgesprekken 'Aan de duurzame tafel'

Woven Skin reisde de hele wereld over om als arena te dienen voor gesprekken over de verstoorde relatie tussen mens en natuur. Te midden van deze prikkelende installatie organiseerde Museum De Lakenhal drie panelgesprekken. Presentator Andrea van Pol (bekend van o.a. Opium en Vroege vogels) ontrafelt met verschillende gasten - van boer tot bioloog en van activist tot filosoof - actuele thema’s geïnspireerd door het werk van Claudy Jongstra.

New Leids Laken

Museum De Lakenhalle breathes new life into the history of Leiden Laken. Five artists and designers, including Claudy Jongstra, have designed a contemporary version of Leiden Laken, inspired by the museum's collection and the craft behind it. This 'Nieuw Leids Laken' is for sale exclusively in the museum store, with cloth lead.