︎
RIKE DROESCHER

Through the Thicket (Body). 2026. Glazed ceramic, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 20 x 7,5 cm. Through the Thicket (Body). 2026. Glazed ceramic, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 20 x 7,5 cm. Through the Thicket (Body, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramic, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 20 x 7,5 cm. Through the Thicket (Canne et Bâton). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 105 x 25 x 11 cm Through the Thicket (Canne et Bâton). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 105 x 25 x 11 cm Through the Thicket (Canne et Bâton). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 105 x 25 x 11 cm Through the Thicket (Canne et Bâton, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 105 x 25 x 11 cm Through the Thicket (Canne et Bâton, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 105 x 25 x 11 cm Through the Thicket (Cornucopia). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 23 x 5 cm Through the Thicket (Cornucopia). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 23 x 5 cm Through the Thicket (Cornucopia, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 23 x 5 cm Through the Thicket (Cornucopia, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 53 x 23 x 5 cm Through the Thicket (Daphne in Rome). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 50 x 11 x 7 cm Through the Thicket (Daphne in Rome). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 50 x 11 x 7 cm Through the Thicket (Daphne in Rome, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 50 x 11 x 7 cm Through the Thicket (Modell 50). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 57 x 23 x 6 cm Through the Thicket (Modell 50). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 57 x 23 x 6 cm Through the Thicket (Modell 50). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 57 x 23 x 6 cm Through the Thicket (Modell 50, Detail). 2026. Glazed ceramics, embroidery on clothing label. 57 x 23 x 6 cm


THROUGH THE THICKET

ANCIENT MEMORIES
JULY 10 - AUGUST 01, 2026
TWILIGHT CONTEMPORARY
LONDON, GB


EPSIODE #1
APRIL 30 - MAY 30, 2026
DOMUS NOSTRA
ROME, IT



In her series „Through the Thicket“, Rike Droescher examines the object of the tree branch as a vestige of humanity’s primal connection to the earth. Inspired by Elias Cannetti’s text Crowds and Power, Droescher interrogates the capacity of the human hand for creation and invention as well as destruction and negation. Here, Droescher identifies the tree branch as one of the earliest, original vessels of the human ability to invest previously dead, inert objects with new, powerful potential. In the human hand, the tree branch is rendered a tool, a magic wand and ultimately a weapon that can be used to wield immense power over others. However, Droescher subverts the tree branch’s violent connotation by recreating it meticulously in ceramic; thus focusing on the human hand’s capacity for patience and care. Droescher’s concern with the slower, gentler and crucially more productive aspects of human nature is consolidated in the hand embroidered labels that appear stitched into the very sculptures themselves. These labels, taken from Droescher’s own clothes, carry an iota of her own personal history as they previously moved with her through time and physical space. By attaching these labels to the ceramic tree branch, with all its complex, ancient connotations, Droescher implicates her individual life in the grander arc of all human history.


Text by Jamie Hope
Photos by Ludwig Kuffer