CONTACT: info@thijsjaeger.com
My work consists of making relics that carry stories beyond individual experience, exploring and questioning how we connect to something larger. By researching mythology, folklore, archaeology, and cultures. I'm drawn to unknown authors: conspiracy theorists and anonymous stories existing in the margins between fact and fiction. These fragments don't follow linear paths but collide to create new meanings in a controlled chaos where truth becomes fluid.
Each relic begins with a fragment—a myth, a conspiracy theory, an anonymous story—mutating as it travels through my practice. Stories shift, details blur, context dissolves. What emerges is a hybrid narrative that reveals the complex nature of collective memory.
I weave between analog craftsmanship and digital technologies, creating immersive experiences that transform space and time. Moving elements, materials and sound merge to create something existing between sculpture and story.
Three archetypal forces guide my work:
Chaos: A surging, unknowable force of nature
Order: A dogmatic, structuring principle
Transformer: A spiritual force of renewal
These relics emerge from societal tensions, not to provide answers but to ask better questions. They aim to foster unity, spark self-awareness, and invite critical thinking—a personal vision reflecting our interconnected existence. Each piece is a symbol, a memory, a potential for transform
Exhibitions
2023 “Fotografik Festival”, Fotografik Gallery, duo exhibition with Justine Grillet, curator Martina Poliačková, Prague, Czech Republic
2023 “BACK_Y”, group exhibition, curated by Yen Yu Ting, Yiri Arts, Taiwan
2023 “Set BAD Vol3”, group exhibition, Taipei Art Village, Taiwan
2023 “‘De Grote Keramiekshow Art Rotterdam”, No Limits, Art Castle, curator Jan Hoek & Simomo Bou
2022 “SYMBIOSIS SERIES”, P-OST, duo exhibition with Justine Grillet, curator: Fenne Saedt Arnhem
2022 “Back to Normal”, groupshow, Trixie, Den Haag
2022 “In the Cold Breeze of a New Earth” groupshow, curator Medusa, Claptrap, Antwerp
2022 “Gris-Gris”, duo exhibition with Bobbi Oskam, Galerie Hok, Den Haag
2022 “Oh Whistle, and I’ll Come”, Superweakness, curator Michael Doocey, Den Haag
2021 F1 Flag, curator: Thijs Jaeger and Joeri Woudstra Trixie
2021 Hemelladder, Sint Franciscus Xaveriuskerk, curator: Jaap Velserboer, Amersfoort
2021 Art Rotterdam, Prospects & Concepts, Rotterdam
2021 Nest, Out and About, Den Haag
2020 Wolpertinger, Heden curator: Nadine van den Bosch
2020 The Monstrous Bouque, Studio Omstand, curator: Mireille Tap, Arnhem
2020 The Model, De Groene Collectie, Arnhem
2020 Unfair ‘20, Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
2020 Volta, curator: Heske ten Cate and Clara Ronsdorf, Den Haag
2019 Medieval Minded, curator: Daniel van Straalen, Stigter van Doesburg, Amsterdam
2019 Uit de Klei, curator: Yasmijn Jarram, Kunstmuseum (former Gemeentemuseum), Den Haag
2019 Gothics in Nigeria, Jan Hoek, Stephan Tayo en Rik Laging, Joeri Woudstra, Corrosia, Almere
2018 Now or Never #4, curator: Benno Tempel, GEM, Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Den Haag
2017 Apocalypse A Working Title, curator: Valentina Gal en Sjors Bindels, Museum Bommel van Dam, Venlo
2017 Ernstig Geschikt, Studio Omstand, Arnhem
2017 Internet Cafe, Photography Festival Arles, FOAM x Patty Morgan: Fusion, Arles, France
2017 Internet Cafe, FOAM Fusion x Patty Morgan, Fotografie museum, Amsterdam
2017 Tough Love, Graduation Festival, Royal Acedemy of Arts The Hague
2017 Performance Masterclass, Kunstvlaai, Amsterdam
2017 VOLUME: VOLUME IIII, Intersection, Roodkapje, Art Rotterdam
2016 Crystal Maze, Den Haag
2016 Code Rood, curator: Mireille Tap, Arnhem
2016 VOLUME:VOLUME III, Stellwerken curator: Jero Jeremias, Kassel, Germany
2016 VOLUME III, Performance Bar, Roodkapje, Rotterdam
2015 VOLUME:VOLUME II Royal Gallery, KABK, Den Haag
2015 Masterclass Marcel van Eeden en Barbara Seiler, KABK, Den Haag
2015 VOLUME:VOLUME I Projectspace KUUB 99, Utrecht
Other
2018-present, Trixie, artist-run-space, co-founder and board member, Den Haag
2019-present, West Den Haag, education program and host
2016-2019 VOLUME is a young collective with five members: Ricardo van Eyck (De Ateliers), Joeri Woudstra (Alumni Graphic Design KABK), Lennart de Neef (Alumni Product Design, HKU), Micha Prinsen (Alumni Fine Art WdKA, Rotterdam). As a collective we work on series of exhibitions, which individually make as collected work.
Funding/Prizes
2021 Pro Invest
2020 Stroom Pro Kunsten
2020 Stokroos
2019 Werkbijdrage Jong Talent, Mondriaan Fonds
2018 Stroom Pro Onderzoek
Collection
Heden
De Groene Collectie
Teaching
2021 Guest Teacher, Royal Academy of Arts the Hague, IST program
2020 Guest Teacher, Artez, Winterlab
Bibliografie
Thuis Te Zien: 179, West Den Haag, text: Thijs Jaeger
Thuis Te Zien: 166, West Den Haag, text: Thijs Jaeger
Medieval Minded: heerlijke middeleeuwse verwarring, Het Parool / Sophia Zurcher
Medieval Minded @ Stigter Van Doesburg, Ofluxo
Medieval Minded a Group Show at Stigter van Doesburg Gallery, Amsterdam, Tzvetnik
Medieval Minded at Stigter Van Doesburg, Artviewer
Gothics in Nigeria Exhibition, Patta
Gothics in Nigeria, Museumtijdschrift
Laatste kans: Now or Never in het GEM Den Haag, Volkskrant / Anne Kleisen
Mijn open sollicitatie voor directeur van het Stedelijk Museum, Vice / Jan Hoek
Apocalypse, A Working Title, Mister Motley / Mirthe de Leeuw
KABK 2017, Mister Motley / Alex de Vries
ArtRotterdam Intersections, Lost Painters / Niek Hendrix
