“Metamorphosis” was part of the exhibition “Painting The Figure Now 2023” at the Wausau Museum Of Contemporary Art (WMOCA), USA, curated by Kiki Kim & David Willson. It is now available via 33 Contemporary Gallery on ARTSY through this link: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/elena-degenhardt-metamorphosis 

“Metamorphosis” is rooted in my personal experience and focuses on the process of liberation and physical and emotional self-acceptance in the view of the passing time, of getting older and of social expectations in connection to that. It visually describes the process of finding to an inner self through the deep, healing connection to the natural world, to the ever-changing but also ever-present world of the sea. I intentionally do not place my swimmers in swimming pools, which would have been a metaphor of confinement for me, but in the open seas, involving its rich symbolism. I myself swim in the sea daily.