Anook Cléonne

Anook Cléonne works with the idea that how we see nature reflects how we see ourselves. Rather than depicting nature itself, her work explores the relationship between people and the natural world, using elements from nature and designed landscapes as metaphors for human experience and our place in the world.

In her drawings and sculptures, Cléonne investigates organizational landscapes—the conventions, written and unwritten rules, and social structures within groups and institutions. She approaches these spaces from multiple perspectives: those of the traveller, tinker, wanderer, botanist, archaeologist, and gardener.

Following the financial crisis, Cléonne explored the world of finance and the concept of trust through a project titled Taxonomy of Trust: Fallow Land & Root Causes. Working in locations including Zuidas, the business district in southern Amsterdam, she created works featuring fallow land, trees, weeds, and growers' manuals as recurring elements.

Her recent project, Het Blauwe Uur (The Blue Hour), translates personal stories about significant turning points in people's lives into landscape drawings that function as moods shaped by change. Working at a considerably larger scale than before, she now incorporates colour deliberately to convey emotional and psychological shifts, creating spaces that engage the viewer almost physically.