In 1918, the absolute zero was approached at the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory in Leiden, where helium was liquefied for the first time. In the basement of that same laboratory, Thijs Wieman learned to work with the demanding material of glass. He was trained there as a scientific glassblower at the instrument makers’ school. Years later, during his Fine Arts studies in Utrecht (HKU, 2006), he discovered how to consciously harness the meaning and narrative qualities inherent in materials.

Alongside drawing, Wieman began exploring installation-based work. He chose to analyze and deconstruct the human body, dedicating himself to the theme of artificial life. His practice reveals a specific interest in the relationship between technology and the evolving image of the human being.

At the Theatre School in Amsterdam (AHK, 2008), within the mime department, he discovered his own body as subject matter. He became fascinated by the realization that everyday life, with all its physical actions, can also be abstracted. By allowing the mind to fragment, unexpected connections arise, new meanings emerge, and illogical worlds unfold in which logic gives way to imagination.

Thijs Wieman is a multidisciplinary autonomous artist with a broad field of interests. A recurring foundation in his work, however, is his fascination with perception and the construction of meaning. In both his drawings and installations, he employs sampling: fragments of objects and narratives reflect his personal attraction to specific images, illustrating the fiction we inhabit.

“It’s fascinating how the mind and imagination generate meaning. Is it possible to observe something devoid of meaning?”