A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST (AS A MOTHER)
For The Right Reasons spotlights CMO turned artist Thecla Schaeffer in short film exploring the tension between artistic self-expression and motherhood
Creative PR studio For The Right Reasons has released a short film exploring the creative vision of THECLA (Thecla Schaeffer) - a trailblazing CMO and marketeer turned feminist artist. The film delves into THECLA’s latest art collection, CATTLE: Motherhood, an elegant yet explosive body of work which explores the question: How does motherhood both liberate and oppress?
The film examines the complexities of motherhood, womanhood, and identity through THECLA’s deeply personal perspective. As the former CMO of two of the Netherlands’ most influential brands - G-Star and Tony’s Chocolonely - as well as a single mother raising three children - THECLA’s body of work challenges outdated cultural archetypes of the isolated artist. Her art, comprising paintings and mixed media pieces, connects vivid storytelling with her signature use of color.
WATCH THE FILM HERE
“My art is infused with the anger and frustrations at the hypocritical expectations towards women and mothers. Motherhood gave me both the emotional rawness and the urgency to express myself. And age gave me the clarity that I don’t want to explain or justify that expression anymore. I want to create something that cannot be argued with, an unapologetic female narrative that simply exists and through its boldness asks to be seen and interpreted.” says Thecla. “Creativity isn’t a luxury; it’s woven into the daily juggle of caregiving, financial survival, and ambition. Instead of asking how we ‘manage it all,’ we should be asking why the creative world still romanticizes detachment over lived experience.”
Conceived and produced by Jessica Hartley, founder of For The Right Reasons, and directed and edited by Mikey Trotter, the film explores what it means to be an artist and a mother today.
It also marks the launch of Amplifying Progressive Voices, a new platform by For The Right Reasons aimed at unfolding and celebrating voices that challenge the status quo.
“I decided to make this film as a testament to the power of THECLA’s CATTLE: Motherhood exhibition and to capture the urgency of her ideas and themes that motivated her to create the artworks. I couldn’t bear the idea that once the exhibition had finished, the door would shut and the story would end. Or at least that nobody would ever be able to revisit it as a complete collection. Hopefully this film captures some of the magic in the room.
Says Jessica Hartley. “Also, in recent years many of my peers around me are evolving their creative practice to explore deeper topics and profound ideas, which is inspiring and worthy of more attention. I’m fascinated by how people distill complex ideas into a tangible form through the power of craft. I’m interested in self reflection rather than self projection, so the format of a film sketch appeals to me, so this is the first in a series of film projects I’ll be unfolding in the coming months.”
