Jesper O. T. Andersson
Pupa 2024
Pupa; the transformative developmental stage in the life of insects preceded by a well-fed larva. It forms a hard shell around its body to initiate the next step in its life cycle. Inside the protective casing, the larva dissolves into an indistinguishable sludge. Cells, joints, and organs shift position in a slowly choreographed restructuring of
the entire creature’s composition. Antennae find new positions, a pair of wings emerge, and three pairs of agile legs prepare the insect for life outside its temporary encapsulation. Finally, a new body emerges from the pupa and the newly formed limbs are allowed to dry in the wind before the creature’s newfound mobility is tested.
This exhibition is an installation similar in concept to an insect larva entering a new transformative stage.
The piece is a modular and site-specific sculpture that is reconfigured for each exhibition. The work has settled inside the pavilion like a kind of pupation, awaiting its next transformation.
Just like art for art’s sake, Jesper explores construction for the sake of construction. Designing components,
parts, and technical solutions where the purpose and goal is the act of construction itself. The structures are
reversible and open to change, sculptures that form in dialogue with the space.
In the exhibition ”Pupa” the artist presents a version of a sculpture made with profiles, designed of cut out paper which are bent and joined together mechanically. That is, without glue or other materials. The project draws
inspiration from East Asian paper crafts and can be described as a modular form of origami (folded paper)
and kirigami (cut paper).
Together, these paper components form a network of rods, joints, connections, legs, ribs, and meeting points that make up a structure, frozen in continuous transformation. When the exhibition is over and the work is dismantled, new configurations of the piece will emerge, and a new stage in the artwork’s life cycle will begin.
About the artist:
Jesper O. T. Andersson is a visual artist trained in fine art at The Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. He works with plasticity as a conceptual starting point, whereupon automation, repetition and modularity become tools
in the artistic process. The art expresses itself in sculpture and drawing that convey ideas about systems, construction, transformation and materiality.
In his sculptural practice, he has explored wood and paper as modular materials. Often in the form of self-designed construction sets, i.e. building systems used to experiment with structures that test the materials’
potential in terms of weight, load capacity, adaptability and other properties. The constructions become metaphors for various adaptable structures, both physical and idea-based. Such as the central nervous system or language.
In the summer of 2024, from June 15 - July 28, the exhibition ”It Goes Together” by Jesper O. T. Andersson
will be on show at Syskonen Kajsa och Olle Nymans Ateljéer och Konstnärshem in Nacka, Stockholm