The Soft Armors of the Subconscious: Annika Thiems and the “On wings (or almost)” Exhibition

In the quiet back streets of Notting Hill, at Bartha Contemporary gallery, an exhibition continues where memory and repressed emotions are clothed in fabric. German artist Annika Thiems’ first solo show in London, titled On wings (or almost), invites the viewer to stand on that tense threshold between dream logic and rational order.

Opened on March 5 and running until April 5, the exhibition is far more than an aesthetic presentation; it is a profound excavation where psychology, family heritage, and surrealism intertwine.

A Response to Méret Oppenheim, Fifty Years Later

The central thread of the exhibition is constructed as a direct response to Méret Oppenheim’s 1976 Parapapillonneries series. Oppenheim’s butterflies embodied a radical stance that rejected harmony, prettiness, and obedience. Fifty years on, Thiems takes up this legacy and builds her own soft structures. The artist’s sculptures — much like an insect struggling to escape a pin — represent emotions that are constantly being pinned down, disciplined, and ordered, yet each time produce their own unique chaos.

From Upholstery to Psychology: Building a Language

Annika Thiems’ artistic language draws from two powerful sources: her background in psychology and the upholstery techniques she learned in her family’s furniture workshop.

Material Memory: Parachute nylon, oilskin (waxed canvas), wool suit fabrics, and even lavender become carriers for concepts such as shame, longing, and the need for protection.

State of Preparedness: The works appear simultaneously over-prepared for any external threat (waterproof pockets, protective compartments) and profoundly vulnerable and soft.

Free Association: Thiems works with found objects and antique materials using the method of free association, offering the viewer not a “puzzle” that needs to be explained, but an “experience” that must be felt.

Annika Thiems’ works provide an opportunity to encounter the most “messy” and unpredictable corners of the mind. You still have until early April to explore this universe where objects develop their own defense mechanisms.