The work by Astrid Lakso (b.2000, Luleå) featured in this exhibition is part of a deeply poignant series finding its origin in the traditional weaving techniques and patterns originally of Tornedalen. In this body of work, the artist delves into patterns previously prevalent in everyday woven objects, mathematically enlarges them and weaves them anew, hanging them from structures reminiscent of the looms originally used to weave them. These fascinating new presences powerfully bring to mind questions of tradition, and history in our contemporary world, and reminding of the way in which language and weaving often intertwines, as in the chilling story of abuse and imperialism by the Swedish state at the expense of the Tornedalen’s people and their language: Meänkieli. Lakso is graduating summer 2026 with a BFA from Konstfack University of Art, Craft and Design in Stockholm and she has exhibited at Galleri Konstfack (Stockholm, 2025), Regionhuset (Luleå, 2025), Hägerstensåsens Medborgarhus (Hägersten, 2025), Kulturens hus (Luleå, 2024), Galleri Assessor (Stockholm, 2024), Gräsö Konstrunda (2024), and Östgöta Nation (Uppsala, 2023) among others. Lakso lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ana Manso’s (b.1984, Lisbon) painterly practice savvily conjoins the mysterious and uncontrollable with knowledge and craft, both in her process, physically, and in her spiritual ideas, metaphysically. Manso’s paintings are incredibly capable of capturing that illusory nature of reality and knowledge, pushing our boundaries by trying to understand them, like she synesthetically does with the small abstract work part of this exhibition entitled the sound of cicadas. Manso holds a BA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Lisbon (2007) and she has recently exhibited at Galleria Umberto Di Marino (Naples, 2025), Es Baluard Museum of Contemporary Art of Palma (Palma, 2025), Nevven (Gothenburg, 2024), Pedro Cera (Lisbon, 2024), Mamoth (London, 2023), Oliva Art Centre (São João da Madeira, 2022), Mudam The Contemporary Art Museum of Luxembourg (Luxembourg, 2020), Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Porto, 2017), and Futura Centre for Contemporary Art (Prague, 2016) among others. Her work is represented in public collections including Mudam Luxembourg, Serralves Museum, Lisbon City Council, Region Västra Götaland, António Cachola Collection, and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to name a few. Manso lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Danish-Vietnamese artist Minh Ngọc Nguyễn (b.1992, Copenhagen) is one of the most interesting new voices in Scandinavian contemporary photography. Merging and remixing stereotypes and pop imagery from South East Asia, in a visual language which is savvy and witty, personal and universal at once, he produces striking images, as simple as they are powerful, as hilarious as they are relevant. The work part of this show is no exception to that, using his signature commercially inspired, composition perfect style, he allows the viewers to encounter a peculiar Danish tradition: the one of gifting stick-insects to injured children having to wear a cast. Nguyễn holds an MFA in Photography from HDK-Valand Academy of Art and Design in Gothenburg (2018) and a BA in Visual Communication from Danish School of Media and Journalism in Copenhagen (2016). He has recently exhibited at Nevven (Gothenburg, 2025 and Bologna, 2024), Minor Gallery (Copenhagen, 2025), Melk (Oslo, 2025), Andréhn-Schiptjenko (Stockholm, 2025), Chart Art Fair (Copenhagen, 2024), Oblong (Copenhagen, 2023), Fotografisk Center (Copenhagen, 2023), 3:e Våningen (Gothenburg, 2023), and Röda Sten Konsthall (Gothenburg, 2018) among others. His work is represented in public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, The Danish Arts Foundation, Region Västra Götaland, City of Gothenburg, and Jönköping Municipality among others. Nguyễn lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark.

From experimental film to collage video and installation, Jiawei Zheng’s (b.1998, Zigong) inventively composed pieces are characterised by their compelling narratives, often reflecting her multifaceted exploration of collective experience, as much as personal memory. An experience that feels both personal, and at the same time experienced by so many young Chinese people is at the centre of the work part of this exhibition. Lived through the eyes of a solitary karaoke singer, in a story where language serves as a portal, she invites the viewers to embark on a journey of re-imagination, where the boundaries between past and present, reality and fiction, seamlessly intertwine and dissolve. Zheng holds an MFA from The Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen (2024) and a BA in Spatial Design from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou (2021). She was nominated for the New:Vision Award by CPH:DOX 2025 (Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival) and her works have been exhibited and screened at Inside-Out Art Museum (Beijing, 2025), CPH:DOX (Copenhagen, 2025), Dutch Design Week (Eindhoven, 2024), Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Copenhagen, 2024), Tofu Space (Copenhagen, 2024), Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art Residency Space (London, 2023), Staffordshire St. (London, 2023), 500ML Space (Bern, 2022), Brook Books (Huangshan, 2021), and A60 Contemporary Art Space (Florence, 2021) among others. Zheng lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark.