Femtensesse is thrilled to present Taking up Space, Jennie Bringaker’s second solo exhibition at the gallery. Known for her bold sculptural explorations, Bringaker’s work reflects her background in performance. Focused primarily on the female form, her sculptures delve into the intricacies of femininity, creating figures that are recognisably human yet somehow otherworldly.

The exhibition takes the form of a site-specific installation centred on a monumental female figure lying across the gallery floor. Made on site using a plaster-based sculptural technique, the figure is constructed from chicken wire, Styrofoam, plaster, duvet covers and newspapers. Its making has unfolded layer by layer over several summer weeks spent by the artist working in the gallery, with passersby able to observe the figure taking shape over time.

Five metres from head to toe, the imposing scale of Bringaker’s female form is literally taking up space. At this scale, the body becomes a landscape in itself: a topography of breasts, stomach and thighs. Lying in the yogic savasana, or corpse pose, the figure appears to be in a position of complete release, traditionally associated with letting go and allowing body and mind to become one. In contrast to the classical corpse pose, however, her eyes remain wide open, fixed in a staring gaze into the void. The body suggests surrender and rest, while the eyes introduce a sense of alertness.

The work’s interplay between body and mind connects to Bringaker’s recent reading of Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss, whose thinking challenged the separation of reason and feeling and emphasised their interconnectedness. Bringaker’s lying figure also recalls Ana Mendieta’s Silueta Series, in which Mendieta repeatedly used the imprint and silhouette of her own body in natural environments to explore presence and absence and the body’s relationship to the land. Like Mendieta’s interventions, Bringaker’s work is inherently temporary, its large-scale form unable to leave the gallery without being dismantled and reduced to its constituent materials.

At Femtensesse, the body becomes a physical and psychological landscape, occupying the gallery with an unapologetic presence. In her vast, elongated form, suspended between surrender and vigilance, the female figure, in all her complexity, claims the room as her own. 

Jennie Bringaker (b. 1978, Oslo, Norway) lives and works in Strømmen, Norway. She holds a BFA from the Norwegian Theatre Academy at Østfold University College and an MFA in Studio Art from New York University. Notable works and exhibitions include Berre ein hund, Haugar Art Museum, Tønsberg (2025); That Obscure Object of Desire, Frac Champagne-Ardenne, Reims (2025); Nurture Gaia, Bangkok Art Biennale (2024); Overwhelmed (a performance featured in the exhibition Louise Bourgeois: Imaginary Conversations), The National Museum, Oslo (2023); Outsiders, Femtensesse, Oslo (2023); and The Hannah Ryggen Triennale 2022, The National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Trondheim, (2022). Recently, she was awarded the commission to create Våkneren, a large cat sculpture to be carved in Røykengranite an installed in a public park in Stamsund. On September 19, she will participate in Ultima at Henie Onstad, with sculptures made in collaboration with Erlend Hogstad for Nils Henrik Asheim’s work Piano Actions. Bringaker’s work is included in the collections of The National Museum of Norway, Oslo, The National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Trondheim, The City of Oslo Art Collection, KORO – Public Art Norway, Frac Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, Haugar Art Museum, Tønsberg, and Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation, Bangkok.

This exhibition is kindly supported by Arts Council Norway.

Images courtesy of the artist and Femtensesse, Oslo. Photo: Tor Simen Ulstein