Born 1956, Wales
Postgraduate in Theatre Design, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
The British designer and artist Deborah Thomas began her career in theatre design during the 1980s, and a distinct sense of theatricality has continued to infuse her captivating creations. In the years since, the striking drama and originality of her work have earned her numerous commissions from private collectors as well as from Peter Marino Architects. Her pieces have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which has also acquired one of her works for its permanent collection.
At the core of Thomas’s practice lies an enduring fascination with how the meaning and perception of materials can shift through processes of reuse and reassembly. This interest emerged in response to a major trend in British design during the 1980s, when recycling and the creative transformation of materials - embodied by the Creative Salvage movement—became central concerns. The ethical and aesthetic potential of reusing materials - 'Skip Culture' as it became known - was a defining feature of British design in that era.
From the outset of her career, Thomas has crafted her remarkable works from discarded and overlooked objects. This approach is perhaps most vividly realised in her glass lighting sculptures, where she reconfigures fragments of broken glass into imaginative new forms. Often, she polishes the edges of these shards to emulate the natural erosion caused by wind and sea, transforming what was once broken into something luminous and alive.