"Blue Brother" is entirely hand-made with local products carefully selected by Claudy Jongstra. Drenth Heath wool and organic Merino wool are naturally dyed in local well water with Burgundian black, blue pigment that comes from the woad plant (Isatis tinctoria) and indigo (Indigofera tinctoria).
The Dutch artist and activist, Claudy Jongstra is known worldwide for her monumental artworks and architectural installations, whose organic surfaces and nuanced tones reflect her masterful innovations in the ancient technique of making wool felt.
In 2001, Jongstra established her studio in the rural North of The Netherlands, where she began a sweeping ecological experiment in the local landscape. The basis of Jongstra’s pieces, wool, comes from her own flock of rare, indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep (the oldest breed in Northern Europe). In her specialised dyers’ botanical garden, the flowers and plants provide natural dyes whilst simultaneously fighting the local loss of biodiversity. This completely sustainable chain culminates 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 revitalises the local landscape from monocultural production toward a more diverse, inclusive, and ecologically-just model.
Jongstra’s oeuvre, often installed in large public spaces, is included in private and corporate collections as well as several international museums and institutions such as the MoMA in New York and San Francisco, the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Netherlands’ De Lakenhal in Leiden and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
