About

Nonhuman Nonsense is a research-driven design and art studio creating near-future fabulations and experiments somewhere between utopia and dystopia. They seek to transmute our relationship to the non-human, by embracing the contradictory and the paradoxical – telling stories that open the public imaginary to futures that currently seem impossible. Consisting of Leo Fidjeland, Linnea Våglund, and Filips Stanislavskis, it is based between Berlin and Stockholm.

Nonhuman Nonsense in studio. Photo Samuel Zeller

Nonhuman Nonsense work in the embryonic stages of system transformation, in the realm of social dreaming and world-making processes. Aiming to redirect focus to the underlying ethical and political issues, to challenge the power structures that enable and aggravate the current destruction of the (non)human world - allowing other entities to exist.

Their work has been presented at the United Nations, in negotiations on the Convention on Biological Diversity. It has been shown at the MU Artspace, Dutch Design Week, Seoul Art Space Geumcheon, ArkDes (Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design), Rhode Island School of Design, Gogbot Festival and the Stockholm BioHackspace. It has been featured in media such as VICE Motherboard, Vogue Ukraine, Gizmodo Earther, Next Nature Network, Makery, Discover Magazine, Dezeen, and they have been invited speakers at the Future Architecture Platform at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana, selected as part of the ARTS-Project at the Resilience Center in Stockholm, among others.

They are graduates from MA Material Futures at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, BA Industrial Design at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design, BSc Engineering Physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. They are recipients of the Michael Treschow Scholarship, Ulla Fröberg– Cramer’s scholarship, and the iGEM Gold Medal.

For a more in-depth elaboration of their approach, see this recent interview for Next Nature Network:

https://nextnature.net/magazine/story/2020/nonhuman-nonsense

hello@nonhuman-nonsense.com

NONHUMAN

Animals, objects, ecology, technology … and the uncanny specters of in-between and beyond.

NONSENSE

We take aim outside the status quo, challenging the power structures that uphold the common sense, to the point where some (humans) will call us nonsense. We seek the impossible - precisely that which escapes the current metaphysical paradigm.

NON NON

We are not nothing, we keep doing something.

HUMAN SENSE

We take our starting point in the senses and the affective - that which drives us towards motion. We explore meaning making, and wish to cultivate human sensibility/awareness.

NONHUMAN SENSE

We stay curious and humble to nonhuman sense, their umwelt and epistemology. We turn, with solidarity, to the nonhuman, allowing other entities to exist.

NON NONSENSE

We are not no-nonsense, but we are at least not only nonsense; non-nonsense lies somewhere between no-nonsense and nonsense - we want to start where language ends.

NON NONHUMAN

We are non-nonhuman - not only human, and not only non-human. We retain an experiential locus in the human subject.

EXHIBITIONS

DRIVING THE HUMAN
Initiated by Forecast, by Freo Majer, in collaboration with Jan Boelen (HfG/Atelier LUMA), Martina Schraudner (acatech/CERRI), and the curatorial team of ZKM.
Radialsystem
Berlin, Germany 15–17 Oct, 2021

ALIENATED
Exhibition space 38CC
Curated by Isabelle Bisseling
Delft, Netherlands, 14 Aug - 10 Jul 2021

INTERSPECIES FUTURES
Center for Book Arts
Curated by Oscar Salguero
New York City, USA, 16 Apr - 26 Jul 2021

POST-SPECULATIVE DESIGN AND DECOLONIZATION OF THE FUTURE
Electromuseum
Curated by Алиса Смородина
Moscow, Russia, 5 Feb - 4 Apr 2021

YOUNG SWEDISH DESIGN 2020 TOUR
Röhsska museet, Göteborg, 3 Oct - 1 Nov
Utopia Galleria, Umeå, 1 - 11 Sep
Form/Design Center Malmö, 13 Jun - 16 Aug
IKEA Museum, Älmhult, 29 Apr - 4 Jun
ArkDes, Stockholm, 3 Feb- 22 Mar
with Svensk Form
Sweden, 2020

DDW 2020: THE NEW INTIMACY
Dutch Design Week 2020
Online exhibition
Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 17-25 Oct 2020

NATURE TAKES OVER
Österängens konsthall
with Biosphere Area Östra Vätterbranterna
Jönköping, Sweden, 26 Jun - 23 Aug 2020

SUSTAIN ABLE VOICES
IKEA museum
IKEA x the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design
Sweden:
Älmhult, IKEA Museum, 5 Mar 2020-31 Jan 2021
Linköping, Linköping university 14-18 sep 2020 and Skylten 5-11 Oct 2020
Leksand, Wallénhallen, Leksands folkhögskola, Oct 2020
Norrköping, Hallarna, 21-26 Sept 2020
Östersund, DIÖS fastigheter, 16 – 26 Nov 2020
Härnösand, Västernorrlands Museum, Bengt Lindström-rummet, 3 Mar – 29 Aug 2021
Karlstad, Värmlands Museum, 17 May-29 Aug 2021
Örebro, Kulturkvarteret, 15 jan-27 feb 2022
international:
Washington DC, USA, House of Sweden, 5 Mar-28 Jun 2020
Bukarest, Rumania, Romania Design Week, 4-13 jun 2021
St Petersburg, Russia, MEGA, jun 2021
Copenhagen, Denmark, 3daysofdesign, 16-18 Aep 2021
Kinshasa, Kongo-Kinshasa, Kinshasa Design Week, Oct 2021

THE AGE OF. | Chapter II
Stockholm Design Week
curated by Jenny Lee & Petra Lilja
Stockholm, Sweden, 3-9 Feb 2020

PRZEMIANY FESTIVAL | Appetite and Apathy
Copernicus Science Centre
curated by Michał Grzymała & Patrycja Strzetelska
Warsaw, Poland, 3-6 Oct 2019

GOGBOT 2019 | BIO THE NEW DIGITAL
Festival for Art Music and Creative Technology
creative direction by Kees de Groot
Enschede, the Netherlands, 5-8 Sep 2019

THE AGE OF…? – A PROCESS EXHIBITION
Form/Design Center
curated by Jenny Lee & Petra Lilja of non:agency
Malmö, Sweden, 27 Aug - 6 Oct 2019

DA VINCI CREATIVE 2019 | Living Life
Seoul Art Space Geumcheon
art direction by Cheon Heahyun
Seoul, South Korea, 2019

DEEP TRASH Eco Trash
Bethnal Green Working Men's Club
Hosted by CUNTemporary
London, UK, 19 Apr 2019

Tlön “Human Life Center: Dreaming, Trauma and Seeds (for futures to come)”
Inkonst
Malmö, Sweden, 5-6 Apr 2019

ReShape: Mutating Systems, Bodies and Perspectives
MU Artspace
curated by William Myers and Angelique Spaninks
Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 2018

United Nations: Convention on Biological Diversity
Conference of Parties (COP-14)
accredited by UAL
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 2018

BioDesign: From Inspiration to Integration
Rhode Island School of Design
Edna Lawrence Nature Lab
curated by William Meyers
Providence, RI, USA, 2018

United Nations: Convention on Biological Diversity
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-22)
accredited by UAL
Montréal, Canada, 2018

CSM: Degree Show
MA Material Futures
Central Saint Martins
University of the Arts London
London, England, 2018

DDW 2017: Embassy of Food
Dutch Design Week 2017
curated by Marije Vogelzang
Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 2017

Biosynthetic Futures (solo)
Biolab at Stockholm Makerspace
supported by RISE Interactive
Stockholm, Sweden, 2016

iGEM Stockholm
International Genetically Engineered Machine
SMITe - Spider Silk Mediated Infection Treatment
Team Members
Boston, MA, USA, 2016

Moving Art Project
Project “X/1872 X1 - No meaningful orbit” featured
Stockholm, Sweden, 2016

Future Land
Museum of Work
Project “Stadsbornas trädgård” featured
Norrköping, Sweden, 2014 - 2018

CYKEL/BIKE
ArkDes: Swedens national centre for architecture and design
Project “Cykelkollektivet” featured
Stockholm, Sweden, 2014

interviews+
writings+
podcasts

TALKING NONHUMAN NONSENSE
Next Nature Network
interview with Eloise Peredruk
Feb 2021

THE PARADOX OF ATHROPOMORPHISM
Future Based
Podcast: Beyond human relations #3
Jan 2021

GES COLLOQUIUM #10
NC State University: Genetic Engineering and Society Center
Podcast: #10 Pink Chicken Project
Oct 2020

CSPA QUARTERLY Q29: SILENCE
Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts
Publication: Planetary Personhood
Canada, Sep 2020

U+ZINE #1 - RELATIONS
The Plurality University Network
Publication
France, July 2020

THE FUTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED
STRP festival
Essay: a Coronal Reflection
Apr 2020

THE AGE OF ENTANGLEMENTS
non:agency
Publication
Sweden, Feb 2020

SPECULATIVE EDU
SpeculativeEdu
Interview: Nonhuman Nonsense
Mar 2019

Selected Talks+
Lectures+
Teachings

RESPONDING TO CRISIS
Design Research Lab at Berlin University of the Arts
Talk
Berlin, Germany, Nov 2021

SUMMER SPACE PROGRAMME
International Space University & Kosmica Institute
Workshop
Strasbourg, France, July 2021

HACK DARWIN LAB
Gluon
5 day workshop
Brussels, Belgium July, 2021

ANIMORPHOSIS LECTURE SERIES
Vilém Flusser Archive
Talk
Berlin, June 2021

MORE THAN HUMAN DESIGN
Konstfack
Lecture
Stockholm, May 2021

BEYOND BIODESIGN CHALLENGE
Biodesign Challenge
alumni panel, talk
2021

PREFERRED FUTURE COURSE
Design School Kolding
guest Teaching, talk
Kolding, Denmark 2020

FUTURE THINKING IN SPACE EXPLORATION
Stockholm School of Economics
guest teaching, talk
Stockholm, Sweden 2020

PLANETARY PERSONHOOD TALK
Dutch Design Week 2020
talk, online
Eindhoven, the Netherlands 2020

LIVE SEMINAR
eXpression Umeå
seminar, presentation
Umeå, Sweden 2020

Planetary Personhood | Martian Matters
Diffrakt | zentrum für theoretische peripherie
workshop
Berlin, Germany 2020

CAMP 2020
Design School Kolding
guest teaching
Kolding, Denmark 2020

Nordic iGEM
Workshop at Synthetic biology conference
“Speculative Design & Synthetic Biology”
Stockholm, Sweden 2016

Tekla Festival
Hosted at KTH Royal Institute of technology
Workshop at Robyn’s technology festival for girls
“Speculative Design & Synthetic Biology”
Stockholm, Sweden 2016

KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Lecture for MA Human-Computer Interaction
”Speculative Design & Technology”
Stockholm, Sweden 2016

Future Architecture Platform
Talk at Art/Architecture Event
Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubliana
”Biosynthetic Futures”
Ljubliana, Slovenia 2016

Södertörn University
Lecture for MA Interaction Design
”Speculative Design & IoT”
Stockholm, Sweden 2016

Södertörn University
Workshop for MA Interaction Design
”Speculative Design & Synthetic Biology”
Stockholm, Sweden 2015

Färgfabriken
Museum for Contemporary Cultural Expressions
Talk at Experiment Stockholm & ARTS Project
Organised by Resilience Center Stockholm
”Biosynthetic Futures”
Stockholm, Sweden 2015

Konstskolan i Stockholm
Lecture for Arts Foundation
”Biosynthetic Futures”
Stockholm, Sweden 2015

Awards+
Honors

Award for Creative Technology (ACT)
The STRP Award for Creative Technology (ACT) is a prize for makers who connect art and technology in an authentic and original way. The 15,000eur award is granted for the realization of new work by young talents. STRP also offers productional guidance for the development, production and presentation of new work during STRP Festival which takes place from 2 to 5 April 2020 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Ung Svensk Form 2020
The young Swedish Design award and exhibition was created with the aim of increasing the knowledge and widening the scope of new, innovative Swedish design; helping it reach new audiences and initiate dialogues. The works will be shown on the exhibition which will tour in Sweden and abroad for a year and a half.

Michael Treschow Scholarship
This award is presented annually to one person in Sweden who graduated from a design education within the last two years. It is selected on a collected portfolio that displays audacity, novelty and delight. Awarded 100000kr and invited to present at HDK in Gothenburg, Sweden. 2016

International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM)
The iGEM Competition is a competition in Synthetic Biology, where students work together to solve real-world challenges by building genetically engineered biological systems with standard, interchangeable parts. Our team, iGEM Stockholm 2016, was awarded with a Gold Medal, and was also nominated for “Best Presentation” and “Best Education and Public Engagement”. 2016

ARTS project
Project “Biosynthetic possessions” was selected as one of five winners in the ARTS (Accelerating and Rescaling Transitions to Sustainability) project: a three year long research project, funded by the European Commission through the FP7 programme, to understand how transition initiatives can accelerate sustainability transitions. 2015

Future Architecture Platform
The platform invites emerging creatives to apply with the ideas, visions and projects they consider important for the future of architecture. Project “Biosynthetic possessions” was selected as one of 25 winners out of 291 submissions, and was invited to speak at the Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubliana, Slovenia. 2015

Ulla Fröberg-Cramer’s Scholarship
This award is presented annually to students of Konstfack Industrial Design who show exceptional promise. 2015