Meet Clare Celeste | Installation Artist and Environmentalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clare Celeste and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clare, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I am endlessly inspired by the connections between organisms, the intricacies of ecosystems, the complexity of nature and its resilience and beauty. I love to walk into a forest or jungle and observe the bloom of life covering every surface. Be it a mangrove in the Brazilian Amazon that is teeming with biodiversity, or a mossy forest bed here in Germany. I create immersive installations so that others can join me in being moved by the beauty of our planet.

I often use tropical imagery in my work as a way to reconnect to my childhood home of Brazil.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I come from a background in policy. I decided to become a full time artist after I became a mother because I realised I no longer had time for art as a hobby. I also realised when I became a mother and time became so precious that my “hobby” was really the thing that was sustaining me and keeping me nourished and grounded. So I took a business planning course and made a go at being a professional commercial artist.

However, after three years as a commercial artist I realise I will be making another career turn this year. As I have become more involved in the movement for climate justice, I realise that I cannot work in the commercial sphere without constantly going against my own values. The vast majority of companies are not working in ways that are sustainable and it has proven difficult to pull together a living now that I have begun to dig deeper into the practices and ethics of the companies who commission me. I have started saying “no” more than “yes” to commercial jobs.

In this time of transition, I believe that making space in my life for something new, something more aligned, is the right move right now. I am hopeful that something will arise that is both creatively fulfilling and also healthy for the planet and for future generations. <3

So, another new transformation is ahead and I am excited to see what comes.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them on the train to one of the lakes outside of Berlin for a long day of swimming and time in the forest. Afterwards we could bike to my favourite vegan restaurant, Chay Village in Schöneberg. Then we could walk to get drinks outdoors at Salut! Perhaps the following day we could train to Potsdam and walk the grounds at Sanssouci Palace

(This is all post-corona!)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to the All We Can Save project and to all the women who are driving the “climate feminist renaissance.”

https://www.allwecansave.earth

This book has truly led me, lovingly and gently, to my life’s work.

Website: www.clareceleste.com

Instagram: clarecelesteart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareboersch/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarecelesteart

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC57w2mtN0c1F9Tdud25Q7hw

Image Credits
Mar Martin