BLACK SHEEP COCOON CABINET
by Marlène Huissoud
2024 Silkworm cocoons, honeybee bio resin, oak frame, pewter
Raised in the French Alps as the daughter of a beekeeper, Marlène Huissoud’s experimental design practice explores the creative potential of the natural world, often engaging insects as collaborators. Her work invites us to reconsider our relationship with the many species with whom we share the planet.
Part of Huissoud’s Cocoon series, this work challenges conventional material practices while reflecting on our impact on the Earth. In traditional silk production, silkworms are killed to extract silk from their cocoons. Huissoud instead works only with cocoons after the silkworms have metamorphosed into moths and emerged, an approach that leaves the insects unharmed.
The piece is handmade from thousands of these empty cocoons and coated in a thin layer of natural honeybee bio-resin. Its ambiguous form blurs the boundary between sculpture and functional object, honoring the beauty of insect life while encouraging a thoughtful coexistence with the more-than-human world.
“My work explores the possibility of a dialogue between humans and other species. It invites us to slow down, to observe, and to remember that we belong to a larger community of life.”
— Marlène Huissoud
Presented courtesy of Sarah Myerscough Gallery and Marlène Huissoud