Born 1983 in Mainz (Germany), lives in Berlin (Germany).
He was raised in Sao Paulo (Brasil) and Mainz (Germany). After finishing high school, he attended university. Initially studying architecture, he changed focus and ultimately completed his Bachelor in Fine Arts in 2014 at the Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule and has since participated in several international shows. He has lived, travelled to and worked in South America, Europe, South East Asia, Western Africa and North America.
Thomas Friedrich Schaefer had the opportunity to observe different social and familial environments within distinct communities. Since moving back to Germany, he has tried to assess his memories and his past within his images. He recently finished a long-term photographic project creating and documenting elaborately staged environments that play on the essence of fragmented childhood memories. The project required him to construct staged rooms using technical skills which he obtained early in his studies while studying architecture and engineering.
Thomas continues to stage images in his studio in Berlin. His work includes hyper-realistic sets that provide the narrative framework to moments of interpersonal relationship. What seem like irrelevant and forgettable moments take on an importance and poignancy.