Connecting art
and coral restoration
Jonat Deelstra X REEFolution
REEF Ranger Dzivula installs Jonat’s ceramic monument at REEFolution.
Fundraiser: In collaboration with REEFolution, I’m selling three of my ceramic sculptures, of which 75% of the profit will go directly to REEFolution. The sculptures will be placed in REEFolution’s coral garden. Connecting art with coral restoration, how cool is that?
Adopt a ‘reef-protecting-sculpture’
The donated sculpture will be a homage to a loved one and can be named accordingly. The sculpture will placed in Shimoni Bay, Kenya. We will install the sculpture in this tropical bay, and you will receive photos of the process and the placement of the art monument. This way you’re able to see your adopted monument crawling with corals and fish.
Sculpture Nr.1
Sculpture Nr.2
Sculpture Nr.3
These are the available sculptures. For €2500 one of them will be your reef monument! The work will be carefully packed and sent to Kenya where it will be installed in the artificial coral reefs. Below you will find a video of my first monumental sculpture placed in this buzzing reef.
My grandpa’s monument in REEFolution’s coral garden in Kenya
Fundraising campaign with REEFolution
75% of the money earned will be donated to the REEFolution cause and spent on keeping the coral gardens in Kenya safe, healthy, and growing. The works of art are sold from March 1 to May 31. The sold sculptures will be installed in June because the rainy season is ending. In summer the conditions are ideal for installing the works and recording the process.
The purchased sculptures will be sent to Kenya, to be installed in the coral garden, just like the memorial for my grandfather. Unlike my project Funeral Home: the North Sea, the ceramic sculptures placed in Kenya will be empty (no ashes).
The available sculptures have been shown in art shows like Art Rotterdam, Museumnacht Amsterdam, Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, This art fair, Art Island, and the GoMulan Gallery. Many similar sculptures are found in private collections and the Akzo-Nobel Art Collection.
Why is this important?
Coral reefs - the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth - have already disappeared by 50% and without intervention, they are in danger of disappearing almost completely by 2050.
I personally, as an artist, can’t just watch this happen. My works are about social and environmental subjects, analysing society. But, most of my works are sold to be aesthetic art objects. This time I would like to have another approach. Therefore, these works should support the mission I deeply believe in: Reef protection!
The sculpture will attract coral, shellfish, and other marine life. It will be a breeding ground for new life. This way, the memory of the loved one will be a living thing!
To make a smaller donation to REEFolution, click here.
What is REEFolution
REEFolution: ‘Half of the world’s coral reefs – our most biodiverse ecosystems – have disappeared! Traditional conservation is failing because the true value of reefs remains hidden. Involving local people directly with reef restoration shows that positive change is possible and connects a broader public with the fate of reefs.’
Learn more about the first monument, that’s already installed in Kenya.
Read the Q&A about the first collaboration between REEFolution and Jonat Deelstra.
What Jonat’s North Sea art project all about?
Jonat’s main underwater project is about using human remains to protect the reefs in the North Sea.
As far as he is concerned, North Sea conservation is moving far too slowly. He wants to get a head start on preserving the North Sea by installing maritime graves in places where there is a lot of trawling. ‘