Fanny Spång

Fanny Spång, “Nesting,” 2020

Deutschsprachige Version des Artikels

The sculptures belonging to the “Nesting” series by the Swedish artist Fanny Spång are semitransparent forms that seem to hover in the exhibition space like smoke or fog-like clouds. Depending on how the light falls, the organically shaped objects take on a silver gleam and cast soft shadows on the floors and walls. Made of fine metal mesh and with the appearance of natural phenomena, the sculptures unfold their power in the interplay between light and space. A number of these delicate objects hang from nearly invisible threads in front of a window, as if assembling there for a period of time, merging into one entity, or existing in a mode of cooperation. Another object finds its place at the doorframe, with a silky pink fabric gently falling to the ground beside it. The largest and darkest form remains on the ground, captured inside a container made out of clear, undulating polycarbonate.

Fanny Spång orients her works according to principles rooted in nature. Her objects vacillate between living and non-living matter, according to one’s perception. One could view the individual elements of her work not only as clouds of smoke or fog but also as living entities, or even animal houses, such as snail shells or cocoons. The title, “Nesting,” thus suggests how animals or humans build and occupy a nest. Through this reference, Spång’s works are like dwellings that have themselves taken up residence somewhere but nevertheless remain fragile.

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For the artist it is important to emphasize that her works relate to the objective world. “Nesting” belongs to a series of works in which she deals with the city as a superorganism. In biology, a superorganism describes a multiplicity of individual organisms that form a self-regulating unit, for example ants, bees, or termites. In thinking about cities as superorganisms, Spång is interested in the interaction between inhabitants and their relationship to urban space and the biosphere as a whole. As she explains, her objects are inspired by the way people look for niches in cities designed by urban planners and architects, places that they use and interact with—like insects or other kinds of animals that adapt their nests to their surroundings, depending on the given environment and reigning living conditions. Spång’s view of urban projects and phenomena are not simply romantic or misty-eyed. The delicate construction of her nests relates to the insecurity of many urban existences or living conditions as well as the dependencies and precariousness that are inherent to every life.

Text: Dr. Kea Wienand


About Fanny Spång

Swedish artist Fanny Spång (b. 1988) works within a multidisciplinary practice with visual expression through animation, sculpture, installation art and design. Her artistic practice explores organic structures through a twisted, detailed surrealism and investigates topics such as perishability, emptiness, collective consciousness and the experience of time. With a fascination for nature and science her work explores bodily textures in an unexpected context and format.

Fanny Spång has a Master of Fine Arts in Design from Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk (University for Design and Crafts) in Gothenburg and studied at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York during her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design. She has exhibited in Sweden and Germany and as a designer done book covers for publishing houses in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

For more information about the artist:

Website / Instagram


The online showcase of Fresh A.I.R. #3

Fresh A.I.R. showcase

The online showcase offers an opportunity to get an overview of the highly diverse projects of the third group of Fresh A.I.R. artists with their different kinds of media and aesthetics.

On view are video and photographic materials about the individual projects, each of which is accompanied by an explanatory text that aims to offer insights into the work’s aesthetic experience.

learn more abouth the online showcase