Tess Chodan is a self-taught artist working with antique entomological specimens. These are insects sourced from historical collections, which she painstakingly repairs and restores to create 3D pieces.
Her work also reflects on preserving the past – tiny pieces of history that would otherwise be long forgotten, or turned to dust, and is inspired by a deep connection with fleeting lives of the natural world.
Tess worked for some years as an antiques dealer, where she came across her first collection of moths – which were over a hundred years old. From that point her life changed and a passion ignited. Tess is now a full-time professional artist whose works have grown in complexity and deepened in intention over the past 5 years. She has spent time researching museum entomology collections in the UK and Australia, and has learned directly from professional entomologists, who have become her mentors.
Tess has exhibited her work in various group shows both in the UK and in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, Australia. In 2019 she was commissioned by the Queensland Regional Gallery (Noosa) to create the work “Still/ Life” for a show entitled “The Force That Through The Green Fuse Drives The Flower”, an interstate project in which she exhibited alongside international artists. Her installation was funded by the Australian Regional Arts Development Fund for Individuals.
Currently she was work exhibited at the Hull City Art Gallery, in Somerset and Gloucestershire. She lives and works in Somerset.
You can get hold of Tess directly through either of the links below:
