- Art & Design
When we want to breathe new life into an interior, we still too often reach for a traditional charming seat or an impressive painting. That is why we like to encourage you to look beyond the obvious. With the beautiful works of Sophie Hanssens you can add a nice extra touch, while maintaining the classy atmosphere of your interior. We reintroduce you to the lovely feel of the Sunday paper, but with a twist.
Sophie Hanssens does not create everyday art, she creates works with a very unique base: printed matter. Although the newspaper is full of many intriguing accounts and emotions, she still manages to transform those stories by taking you into her own imagination. How she does that? She silences the newspaper's words and searches for unique dimensions by appealing to the paper itself. With lush shapes, fine folds and an eye for volume, she forms the most beautiful collages. Her work completely encapsulates what art is all about: pure passion. And you can sense that from miles away. Hanssens' objects fill walls and niches as if they were always supposed to be there. 
The different shades and textures she finds in paper treasures are an excellent basis for her to shape her objects. With each new object, she bends, cuts and moulds to obtain the desired result. She also likes to add materials from nature. They fit perfectly with the deterioration of authentic prints. The lived and natural are essential elements in Hanssens' art. Thanks to her training as a florist, she knows how valuable nature is and wants to give this natural beauty the necessary attention through images.
The ultimate goal the creative soul wishes to achieve with her compositions is simple: she wants to connect people. And that is precisely why she literally connects books. She also approaches this way by philosophising. A concrete expression of this are the few blank pages that she occasionally lets shine in their simplicity. They symbolise new opportunities and leave room for imperfection. In addition, the artist also likes to incorporate old canvases that have already been worked on into a larger whole. You can also occasionally encounter hidden written messages, which you can then ponder for a while. Nothing has to, everything is allowed, as long as it is aesthetically pleasing. As long as the idea the work carries is expressed correctly.
Nothing has to, everything is allowed, as long as it is aesthetically pleasing
Because of the layeredness of her pieces, Hanssens regularly provokes fascinating conversations with a passer-by or a buyer. She likes this, because in this way she goes through the process of creation all over again. Together with that person, she then loses herself once more in her work, which eventually encourages her to start experimenting again. 
Want to read more about this impressive talent? You can read about it in the December 2023 edition of Imagicasa Magazine.
Photography by Debbie Debrauwer
Text by Emma Verstappen