ELISE GUILLEN (US): Mixed Media
Elise Guillen is a multidisciplinary artist from Massachusetts. She received her BFA in Illustration in 2016. Two years later, her love for analog storytelling led to a solo cross country move to Portland, Oregon. Here, Elise began working on stop-motion animated productions for clients such as Netflix and Nickelodeon, while also delving deeper into her personal mixed media collage practice.
The collage process of assembling and re-contextualizing disparate elements into new meaning is a synthesis that mirrors her day job in stop-motion, meticulously piecing together a larger narrative frame by frame. Elise’s collage work examines tension between structure and spontaneity, a curiosity for the human figure, intuition, and sustainability. Her work has been recognized by Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, and Creative Quarterly.
Today, I’m approaching my collage practice with a depth I have not previously encountered in my work. In response to the ongoing global climate crisis, I am increasingly mindful of my environmental impact and the sustainability of my creative process. Over the past decade, I have accumulated a collection of paper scraps, magazines, and ephemera, minimizing the need to purchase new collage materials. However, as I occasionally find myself running out of base materials like mixed media paper or bristol board, I’ve been experimenting with the process of handmade paper production as a more sustainable alternative.
This study took a more personal form earlier this year when I found myself with an excess of clothing too worn to donate. Thinking about waste reduction and the spirit of reimagining within collage, I cut up one of my tattered tank tops and threw it in a blender. I created a fibrous pulp which I then transformed into handmade paper that I collaged onto. I continued this process with jeans, socks, underwear – all of which are on view (containing deckled edges) within my portfolio. Minimizing waste while incorporating this craft into my process has ignited an innovative flame within me. The origin of the paper fibers adds an additional layer of narrative to the work, making each piece truly analog and further connecting my practice to a broader environmental consciousness.
Meditating on the origin of the clothing fibers themselves, I trace their roots back to the land. During my time at Hektor, I plan to explore the process of making handmade paper from a variety of plant fibers sourced from the grounds at the farm and the wider Lanzarote landscape. I aim to challenge my own conceptions of what’s possible, transforming dry grasses and leaves into the tangible pages of a story, quite literally regenerating the land into art.
The body of work I create at Hektor will serve as the foundation for an explorative series of what 100% fully sustainable collage can look like. This residency will allow me to reassess the ecological mission behind the collage practice I have developed over the past decade. I will also have the chance to build invaluable relationships with other like-minded artists whose work engages with environmental themes, further enriching my network and creative perspective. In line with Hektor’s values, my aim is to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about sustainability and the connection between art and the environment that Hektor has fostered for years. This time spent on Lazarote will not only broaden and diversify my skill set and portfolio, but it will also enable me to continue exploring this exciting new direction in my work.
CELINA J. AUGUST (GE/UK): CERAMICS
Celina J. August (b. Celina Schumm, 1996, Germany) is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in London and Berlin. Her body of work consists of paintings, sculpture and tattooing, guided by an intuitive, material-driven process.
In both ceramics and painting, the piece evolves on its own, telling her what it wants to become. It’s about both removing and adding, allowing the creation to emerge naturally and create biomorphic forms. Her works resemble otherworldly forms and shapes and are based on a continuous exploration, which are influenced by different places.
Having lived across Europe and Latin America, August’s frequent moves have shaped her practice and style. The themes of transformation and the unknown are central to her work, serving as a reminder that every captured moment is part of a larger, interconnected experience.
GIORGIA LENZI (IT): Photography
Giorgia Lenzi (b.1994, Italy) is a photographer with an interest in telling stories through an intimate and diaristic approach. Her imagery is guided by poetry and focuses on nature and the possibility of the landscape to explore memories and create emotional reflections.
She also works with archival photography, cyanotype and collage.
JUSTINE BOURGEUS - TSAR B (BE): Music
Justine Bourgeus (°1994) is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. She has been a part of the local scene since the age of 14 and started releasing music under the moniker Tsar B in 2015. Writing, recording and producing most of her compositions out of her place in Brussels, her work has been applauded by the likes of BBC Radio 1, The Fader, Les Inrocks & more.
CAMILLE WALALA (FR/UK) - Multidisciplinary
French artist based in London, Camille Walala’s work consists of deploying on all kinds of surfaces, from the smallest to the largest scale, compositions inspired by Ndebele art, Op art, Memphis or even Auguste Herbin, in a free circulation of references and influences. This is about affirming a cultural mix but also about reconnecting with the ambition of historical abstractions: overcoming the boundaries between visual arts and applied arts, dissolving the boundaries between art and life in order to enrich and improve our experience of everyday life. Also, urban and public spaces have until now been at the center of her approach, with to date numerous collaborations for public structures and events, but also urban developments, notably in London, Shanghai, Buenos Aires. , Cleveland, New York or even Kenya.
Over the past ten years, my work has been inspired by every day life and it’s surrounding, which until now was very based on details that I can see in cities, details of buildings structures and textures. I have developed a lexicon of shapes and colours that I would like to enrich with new influences: those of the of the island of Lanzarote with its atypical landscapes, colours and textures, the whites, the blues, the ochres, the openness of the horizon and also, by the architecture of César Manrique and his more organic shapes that I have admired for many years.
I am really looking forward to be in residence at Hektor as I know it will allow me to benefit from the research time necessary for my work to renew my inspiration. Having long weeks ahead of me, free of constraints, would be an opportunity to free myself from certain automatisms and mechanisms, and to give free reign to more gestures and movement - most often contained until now in geometric lines which today tend to become more flexible, like the rounded edges of César Manrique forms.
I would love in the first few days to explore the island, visit Cesar Enrique architectural sites and also immerse myself in the landscapes, doing quick sketches during walks and working on some graphic textures that I will document with photography first.
The second week I will produce large instinctive drawings from the research of the previous week.
For the rest of my stay I would love to produce paintings in colours and collages on large loose canvas reflecting the feelings and freedom I will have experienced on the island, and hopefully letting go of my pre conceptual way of working.
Coming to Lanzarote has been a dream of mine for a long time. I am so grateful to Hektor for their opportunity to do an art residency in October 2025.
I also feel very inspired by the beautiful Residency at Hektor, I feel like staying for a few weeks in a relaxing and beautiful setting, connected to nature that will bring some unexpected discovery in my art practice. I can't wait for that!
CYNTHIA CHOU (TW, CA): Interdisciplinary
Cynthia Chou is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the nature of memory, ecology, and decay. Her research investigates a wide range of use cases for algae-based biomaterials, treating them as both textile and canvas.
SONIA RENTSCH (US): Still life
Sonia is a Still Life Artist with a keen eye for detail and a talent for the idiosyncratic.
She has become well known for creating iconic imagery questioning the viewer to reassess the pictures placed before them.
Her Harm Less series, a selection of weapons created from plant life has been widely publicized and became synonymous with the hopeful ideology of a world without violence.
Differentiating her work from the wider market is an innate intellectual element ingrained in her creations. Via a depth of thought intrinsic to the compositions or simply the skill involved in the crafting of the objects the imagery is recognizable as distinctly hers.
Her work encompasses all forms of materials and objects forged with an attention to detail often minute.
Crossing the borders between both art and industry her imagery is highly sort as collectable items but also commissioned by corporate entities to create pictorial narratives that encapsulate the intrinsic nature of a brand or idea.
With a background stemming from a degree in Industrial Design, Sonia’s work has a foundation in both design and engineering. She is a qualified welder, founder and model maker. Post her studies she spent 10 years designing large scale environments for Fashion Festival Runways, luxury interiors for events and retail, along with smaller lifestyle products for the mass market including tap ware, lighting, home wares and fixtures. She then moved into film, designing sets before assisting German Artist, Sarah Illenberger in Berlin. On returning to Australia she forged a unique path of her own building a portfolio that has garnered her worldwide attention before relocating to New York where her clients have included Hermes, Lanvin, Loewe, MoMA, Ikea, The New Yorker, Tiffany, Nike and The Wall Street Journal.
In a clear moment of united world confusion – how do we ground ourselves?
Where do we go to seek solace, how do we make statements without raising our voices?
I believe strength and unity comes from the small things - the conversation you have with a stranger while walking your dog, the fruit and vegetables you grow and share with a neighbour.
In my art practice and my daily life, I seek for beauty where classically speaking others may not see it, I paint pictures formed of found things and narrated by light. I speak in a visual language.
The Irish philosopher John O’Donohue says we often make the mistake of equating time with space, but time is unshaped – that the imagination we bring to the new dawn will surprise and bless us with new things.
My time in Lanzarote will be spent building connections, with locals, with the land, and with found materials. From these I aim to build a collection of work that speaks of place and time – simple reminders of being good, of being kind, of growth - a statement painted without words, built from the gifts of an island.
CHRISTOPHE BOULANGER (FR): Drawing
A multidisciplinary artist, Christophe eagerly embraces life with his quick and vibrant strokes. These sketches dance in notebooks that, as they pile up over the years, form a leaning tower.
From these sketches are born engravings, monotypes, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, photographs, pieces of solid wood... An insatiable explorer of materials, he shapes them with the supple and uninhibited gesture of someone discovering them. And his sketches come to life, like his delicate ink lines. A serial score where each motif is unique.
Each exploration is a chapter written in the flow of material and gesture, a palpable tension between the childlike joy of breaking new ground and the inner demands of the adult. The choreography of letting go is a tumultuous, joyful, and painful tango. This quest falls in love with obsolete techniques like Sèvres porcelain, metalworking, pyrography, and basketry.
His latest creations explore wood in a tightrope walk between furniture and art sculpture. Always, the original sketch appears as a watermark. It inspires the curves and rhythms, the sensuality, the modeling. Then are born forms that are just right, surprising, intriguing, sometimes burlesque, but of undeniable beauty. A mystique that recalls the trembling universes of Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, where poetry vies with function.
Beyond any label, there is in Christophe and his works a Don Quixote-like flourish, a dream of freedom escaped from a childhood woven with conventions, an incredulous hold-up where yet the truth is revealed. In this kingdom, nothing is usurped. It is a lesson repeated where always, he awakens amazed. For our greatest delight...
I would like to take advantage of this residence to work mainly on drawing (ink, pastel, charcoal, colors).And develop work initiated in recent years on the “botanical imagination”. Having already had a short stay in Lanzarote, I saw that in the face of the mineral environment the flora developed treasures of inspiration.
JULIAN BENDER (GE): Multimedia
Julian Bender (born 1989 in Mainz) is a communication designer and creative, based in Mannheim, Germany. He moved to the city in 2009 to study Communication Design and has been living and working there ever since – with a brief but inspiring stint at Zoo Magazine in Amsterdam in 2012. He loves textures, shapes, colors, bass, good melodies and beautifully crafted objects. Above all, he is passionate about creating spaces for connection, shared experiences, and ideas.
In 2015, Julian founded Granada Hills (The Studio), where he collaborates with a range of clients from the cultural sector – mostly art, music and theatre. Especially noteworthy is his long-term collaboration with GNYP Gallery Berlin/Antwerp, bringing several projects and artist books to life. He occasionally dives into free projects – like teaming up with Stockholm-based The Ninevites for a series of custom handwoven rugs or small exhibitions such as “Wheel of Emotion” with Thomas Wolf at Büro Brutal in 2022.
Outside the studio, Julian co-runs KIOSK, a neighborhood café and bar that doubles as a cozy event space for concerts and gatherings. He’s also active in the electronic music scene as a DJ and promoter. For years, he’s been hosting the club night PALS, shining a spotlight on house music and queer DJs and producers. You’ll find him behind the decks at Disco Zwei, where he holds a residency at one of Mannheim’s most iconic clubs.
Check on Instagram, more Instagram and soundcloud.
Rug collab with The Inevitables