Studio Claudy Jongstra and LOADS Collection's fruitful collaboration with Bankside Hotel in London aligns with the hotel's sustainability commitments. Drawing from her sustainable art practice, Jongstra developed 'Washed Ashore' and 'Lost & Found' for the hotel’s Art Yard restaurant, bar and private dining room. Both series of artworks refer to the 'mudlarkers', a type of beachcombers who collected and sold objects washed ashore along the Thames as treasures in the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to the artworks in the public areas, the hotel’s seven signature suites feature textiles from the collection, including cushions and plaids. This design, too, refers to the banks of the Thames where trade was once conducted that provided the intercultural exchange between East and West.
Prior to the opening on Wednessday the 12th of April by Philip Steiner of Bankside Hotel and the Embassy of the Kongdom of the Netherlands in Londen, Claudy Jongstra gives a Masterclass for Change to master students of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in Londen, among others.
In the studio of Studio Claudy Jongstra, the artist, master artisan Anneleen Reitsma and their team worked on realizing the new works over the past months. For Washed Ashore, a series of five semi-transparent wool-felted canvases, Jongstra drew rich inspiration from the history of Bankside's location: London's culturally vibrant South Bank on the banks of the river Thames. The window sheers enrich the hotel's Art Yard restaurant and bar. They give the space both a warm and protected feeling and contact with courtyard outside. Visually, the narrative works refer to the calm repeating blue-grey ripples of the majestic river and the bow wave the boats leave on the water's surface. At the same time, the works are about calm after the storm and confidently waiting for what is to come, surrounded by water, sky, and shore.
Jongstra depicts this in compositions of felted wool from native Drenthe Heath Sheep and merino wool from the herds of Maria Pia Sanchez of La Dehesa farm in Spain. All pigment plants that are used to dye the wool are either grown in Jongstra's own botanical garden or at the biodynamic farms Entheos in Spain and De Beersche Hoeve in the Netherlands. The latter grows the indigenous Dutch woad plant that produces intense indigo blue hues. Sunflowers and Coreopsis provide the golden yellow hues, onion skins and walnut shells deliver shiny gold and madder root deep red accents.
Lost & Found
Lost & Found was developed for the hotel's private dining room. The narrative works are about the hidden 'treasures' that ended up in the water and washed up on the banks. These objects were found by the 'mudlarkers', a kind of poor ‘beachcombers' who, in the 18th and 19th centuries along the Thames, carefully extracted the shiny objects from their hiding places as 'amateur archaeologists', collecting and selling them as precious gems.
Thus, Claudy Jongstra drew inspiration from the rich history of the vibrant location surrounding the hotel. For centuries, the river Thames and its banks have been the scene of fishing boats sailing in with their catch of the day and large trading ships unloading products from all over the world. Those ships then transported new cargoes to faraway places on different continents. The banks were home to the most important food markets, some of which still exist, such as the Borough Market, which is found near Bankside Hotel. Here, spices, fibers, food, and artefacts were traded, and knowledge exchanged. Thus, the river has always been a lively center bringing together products and people from different cultures.
LOADS Collection in Bankside’s Signature Suits
The exchange between different cultures is further reflected in the interior products, such as cushions and plaids in soft tones. These are specially designed for the hotel's seven suites. The carefully crafted exclusive interior products are crafted with the highest quality organic cotton. This fabric is sourced from the Demeter-certified cooperative SEKEM in the desert of Egypt, longtime working partners of Studio Claudy Jongstra. All fabrics are dyed with plant pigments from biodynamic farms De Beersche Hoeve in the Netherlands and Entheos in Spain, with which Jongstra also has a long-standing collaboration.
Surrounded by the products handmade with love and care, the contemporary traveler and hotel resident will immediately feel comfortable at home in unfamiliar surroundings - far from home.
The Whitebox
Bankside Hotel offers travelers culture, art and food, in keeping with the culturally vibrant South Bank that includes Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe, National Theatre and Borough Market. The Whitebox, the hotel's curated exhibition space, will feature two wool-felted artworks by Claudy Jongstra: 'The Waves' and 'Grey Rhythm'. Both works refer to the history of the site and the river surrounding Bankside Hotel. The works are part of its latest group exhibition in partnership with Bankside partners Degree Art & Contemporary Collective. “Nature's Imprint: A Journey Through Time and Art” aims to redefine and deepen the public's understanding alongside exploring the profound influence of sustainability in art and design. Showcasing a wide range of artworks that incorporate sustainable materials, biophilic elements, and designs inspired by various facets of nature, Claudy will exhibit amongst artists known for their nature-inspired and organically attuned works. The exhibition will launch at Bankside Hotel from 30th April, and run until Autumn 2024.
For more information and/or images please contact:
info@loadscollection.com
vivekavandevliet@claudyjongstra.com
Bankside Hotel: emma.ross@cycashospitality.com
