Uitvaartcentrum: De Noordzee

Jonat Deelstra received a grant to develop new work. With the project Funeral Centre: The North Sea, Jonat gives shape to his ideal funeral. He wants his sculptures, which contain human remains, to be placed on the seabed. This underwater burial ground is designed to be an ideal place for oysters and mussels to grow. In this way, his sculpture garden will become a sacred reef, which in turn will attract new flora and fauna. As more people use his service, the reef will grow exponentially and attract larger animals. The tombs and sculptures will become totally overgrown with organisms. Thus, after your death, you can contribute to the growth of biodiversity and new life underwater. Because of the grave rest right, it is forbidden by law to disturb the sailors' graves, thus Jonat creates an ethical barrier to industrial fishing and oil and gas drilling platforms. Thus, he tries to create some peace and quiet on the seabed so that biological recovery can take place.

Jonat lives and works in Amsterdam. He mainly makes paintings, but he also works with ceramics, wood, film and graphic techniques. His work is mainly about the relationship between humans and 'nature'. How do people interact with their environment? Through his tranquil scenes and alienating use of colour, his paintings are reminiscent of magical realism. His work looks like a dream, sprinkled with topical subjects such as climate change, death, religion and migration. He is represented in several private and corporate collections, including AkzoNobel, Normec and KPMG.