cocoon

INSTALLATION | FREISING_2025

"cocoon" is a site-specific, multisensory installation developed during my residency at Schafhof in Upper Bavaria. The piece was shaped by a period of personal vulnerability, struggling with mental health issues and isolation for over two years. A month before my arrival at Schafhof, I became severely physically ill as well. The extended period of recovery—both mental and physical—deepened my experience and became the emotional and conceptual foundation of the work. 

The installation centres around a sculptural, bed-like form, constructed from layers of stiffened white cotton fabric and old lace curtains, which carry symbolic weight in my practice, often representing the fragile boundary between public and private space. The fabric is piled and bound into an airy form, then anchored to the room by delicate white threads that mimic the silk filaments of a cocoon—suggesting a structure that has grown organically into the space, like something alive and in process. 

Woven into this form are rubber hoses that pump a thick, dark fluid—an imagined bodily substance or medicine—symbolising a slow, ongoing process of inner purification and emotional transformation. 

To further extend the sensory dimension of the piece, I created small, edible sculptural fragments using agar, inspired by the aesthetics and material sensitivity of Japanese wagashi confections. These jelly-like forms were made with home remedy ingredients—ginger, lemon, milk, honey, lemon balm, and fir tree or dandelion syrups I prepared myself. Their textures and flavours evoke organic fluids such as mucus or sap. The act of tasting them becomes a ritual of connection—intimate, slightly uncomfortable, but also tender.  

As in much of my work, I approached this installation by responding directly to the space I inhabited. I spent long periods lying in bed during my first month in residence, imagining how my inner state might be translated spatially. The idea of a cocoon came as inspiration—a structure built for transformation, a space of protection and hope. Only around 50% of cocoons actually survive and complete their metamorphosis. Cocoon holds this ambiguity, recognising the difficulty of change, while still leaning gently into the possibility of becoming. 

Though deeply rooted in personal experience, my intention is always to speak to shared emotional and psychological states—particularly those shaped by modern isolation, hyper-individualism, and disconnection. My work often critiques these systems by offering sensory, relational spaces that invite reflection and reconnection. 

"cocoon" continues my exploration of sensory environments that blur the boundaries between body and space, vulnerability and resilience. It is, at its heart, a soft process of healing—tender, uncomfortable, and full of hope. 

location: Schafhof-European Art Forum Upper Bavaria, Freising, Germany
photography and video: Barbara Gocníková
communication and support: Isabel Oberländer - Schafhof-European Art Forum Upper Bavaria