Thera de Freitas

Thera de Freitas (*1999) ist eine bildende Künstlerin und Kuratorin aus Caracas, Venezuela. Nach einem Aufenthalt in Barcelona lebt sie seit 2022 in Köln und ist seit 2023 ein aktives Mitglied der Kölner Community am Ebertplatz. Gemeinsam mit Santiago Mendez kuratierte Thera im August die Ausstellung "Santos Inocentes – Syncretic convergence in quotidian realms" und war im April desselben Jahres maßgeblich an der Gründung des Ebertplatz-Archivs MEDEA beteiligt. In ihrer Arbeit versucht Thera de Freitas, ihr kulturelles Erbe, die tropische Natur Venezuelas, mit ihren Träumen und der Realität zwischen Europa und ihrer Vergangenheit zu verbinden. Sie konzentriert sich auf die Arbeit mit gemischten Medien, obwohl die Fotografie das Medium ist, das sie am häufigsten wählt, um ihre Gedanken zu übersetzen.

Recommended by Thera de Freitas

Susanne Pareike: it's an (im) material world.

Susanne Pareike’s work carries a particularly intriguing sensitivity, which emerges from the relation between her photographs/negatives and the materials she uses to represent them. The blend of abstraction, color—or lack of it—sparks a deep curiosity in me to understand where her ideas are born, as well as the connection between surface and image. The story told through the images feels quite moving and, at the same time, somewhat difficult to digest. This complexity has made her work one of my favorites among the selections for the festival.

Stephen Gill: Nobody's Library

The mystery and mysticism in Stephen Gill’s photography make me feel as if I’m in the middle of a dream—as though, through his images, I could connect with the artist’s shadow. I find the work impressive, and somehow unsettling as well, which awakens in me the urge to keep looking, to see what happens next.

Burnon - collective exhibition

As the accompanying text mentions, what captivates me most about this group exhibition is the diversity captured through each artist’s lens. It’s fascinating to reflect on the contrasts of the scenes that surround us, depending on the context in which we find ourselves. Each photo is crafted with such precision, moving me and making me feel part of each of the stories portrayed. As someone who deeply enjoys the authenticity of street photography—and the way it transforms its anonymous subjects into something eternal through the eyes of the person behind the camera—I can’t help but feel that this is one of my favorite works in the entire collection.

Anne Nwanneka: Leaving Lagos

This work holds a sentimental value that feels deeply personal to me, due to my own history as a migrant. It’s fascinating to see the ambiguous feeling of not fully belonging to a place—yet being filled with your own identity—captured through images. The contrast between the zinc rooftops and the floors made of a material that pretends to be marble serves as an interesting metaphor for the dichotomy present in developing countries (like my own). This familiarity that simultaneously feels foreign evokes a complex mix of emotions in me, born from the experience of forced migration. Beyond that, the execution of the images and their colors reveal a fresh, singular vision from the artist—one that stands apart from much of the work typically shown in Germany and across many European countries.