Tessa Schrama

"I weave myself a cocoon; every stitch holds me firmly in place, protecting me from what is to come. In my work, I explore how high sensitivity, protection and transformation relate to one another. Drawing on personal experiences of overstimulation, loss and uncertainty, I develop a visual language in which vulnerability is not concealed, but rather made tangible.

I work with layered, translucent fabrics such as organza, organic forms and the body as a vessel for emotion. My installations oscillate between safety and confinement: transparent enough to see through, yet too closed off to truly enter. The works function as inner spaces in which feelings such as loneliness, fear and the longing for connection become visible.

Inspired by artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Joyce Overheul, I explore how personal experiences can evolve into a universal language. As Bourgeois puts it: “Art is a guarantee of my sanity.” For me, too, art becomes a way of processing and sharing experiences. By stimulating the viewer, I try to make them feel my experience of the world, as if they were temporarily sharing my sensory sensitivity.

The title refers to the biological cycle of metamorphosis: diapause, histogenesis and finally eclosion, the moment when the butterfly breaks free from the cocoon. Where protection was once necessary for survival, there is now space to create from a place of trust. And now I leave behind my exuvia, the empty cocoon. For me, art thus becomes not only a form of processing, but also a consciously chosen strength."