Thera Hillenaar

Originally trained as a fashion & costume designer and scenographer, I have kept my love for textiles, but freed myself from the functional restrictions of wearable clothes and ventured into autonomous art. Always on the lookout for new possible functions and paying attention for the very first time to a material like leather without involving the body - only entering into a dialogue with material and form. The movement that makes the human body communicative is replaced by stationary morphiques that trigger movement in the brain, creating its own interpretation of the work. The materials I work with are up-cycled materials such as wooden children's toy blocks, and leather from wardrobes, sofas and yard sales. These materials have all had a previous life. This is not visible in the work but is important to me because I build on materials with past lives that want to be transformed again. Children have played for years with wooden blocks and these blocks have been witness to countless stories and feelings. I believe that the uninhibited souls of these children have been encapsulated in these wooden toys and subsequently have been conserved into these sculptures by me. Open-mindedness of children is considered normal and magical, whi...

Gerrit Rietveld academy Amsterdam Bachelor
Frank Mohr instituut Master Scenography