Theemetra Harizani
Artist
Theemetra Harizani, born in 1993 in Lefkothea, a small village in Northern Greece, has lived in various cities and now resides in Berlin, where they work as a multidisciplinary artist. Their practice spans installation spaces incorporating performance, video, sound, light, textile art, and ready-made objects, exploring themes of tenderness and community. As a member of the frontviews art collective, a founding member of the cyber-fem art collective F.R.I.E.S., and a volunteer with Phyl.is, a student union for gender and equality, Theemetra’s work is deeply committed to challenging individualism and advocating for collective values in contemporary society.
Their technique is characterized by the use of diverse materials such as cotton handmade papers, fabrics, embroidery thread, and ink for printmaking and silkscreen, while they engage their body and voice in performative ways, seeking to activate the space and create an immersive experience through the interaction of the pieces, sound, light, and space. Theemetra’s research-driven approach incorporate archival imagery and statistical formats, reflecting an effort to impose order and control within the chaos of information. A usual approach on their mediums is revisiting already established visual languages, such as the art of embroidery, or a graph, or the form of a lulluby. This distinctive element sets their work apart, defining the uniqueness of heir technique.
Theemetra’s art serves as a form of communication, an additional language to convey political, social, and personal positions. In the process, they also deepen their understanding of themselves. Their work addresses critical issues such as identity politics, social structures, monoheteronormativity, modern colonialism, nationalism, and social injustice. They also explore themes of rituality, communal creativity, ceremonial declarations, and ethics. Although not intentional, Theemetra’s practice loosely aligns with the Excessivism movement but diverges by focusing on gender, race, and class—issues often absent from that movement.
My Story
Theemetra Harizani was born in 1993 in Lefkothea, a small village in Northern Greece, and relocated to Serres with their family in 1999. Their neurodiversity has had a profound influence on both their education and career for two key reasons: it encouraged their parents to support
them in exploring a wide range of activities—such as dance, sports, music, and languages—which laid a strong foundation for their artistic development. Furthermore, frequent public exposure helped them become comfortable with performing and engaging with audiences.
At the age of 13, Theemetra enrolled in the Music High School of Serres, where they studied various instruments and music theory, while also participating in debate, creative writing, and film groups. In 2012, their passion for art led them to gain admission to the School of Fine Arts at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where they studied under Georgios Tsakiris. His conceptual
approach to art deeply influenced their multidisciplinary practice. In 2018, Theemetra was awarded an Erasmus scholarship to study printmaking in Wroclaw, Poland, which expanded both their technical skills and artistic perspective.
After completing their Master’s studies, they moved to Berlin in 2021 to advance their artistic career and broaden their life experiences. Since then, they have participated in group exhibitions and held various roles within galleries and project spaces. Currently, Theemetra is researching the ceremonial and ritualistic aspects of art events, while working with the frontviews production team at HAUNT and contributing to the Dystopia Sound Art Biennial 2024.