Jens Fänge: The Clout
The Clout (2018) is a site-specific installation consisting of a large wallpaper mural, a sculpture combining a clarinet and a pipe, two framed drawings, and a custom-designed rug that echoes the forms and patterns found throughout the installation.
The work forms part of the Heckscher-Ohlin Room and reflects on ideas connected to theory, knowledge, and the history of the Stockholm School of Economics.
The mural incorporates everyday objects such as a glass, a sheet of paper or cloth, and a cigarette butt. Throughout the installation, Jens Fänge combines recognizable forms with symbolic references that invite interpretation.
One drawing presents an organic interpretation of the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem, transforming a familiar economic model into something that appears to grow and evolve. Another depicts a hand wiping away an obscuring surface, suggesting themes of inquiry, understanding, and interpretation.
The installation also includes references to the Swedish concretist artist Olle Baertling. The geometric forms found in the work echo visual elements associated with Baertling’s practice, creating a dialogue between the interior of the room and the sculpture by Baertling located outside the School.
A recurring theme in The Clout is the relationship between representation and reality. The hybrid object combining a clarinet and a pipe encourages viewers to question how meaning is constructed and how objects, symbols, and theories relate to the world they seek to describe.
In this way, the work raises broader questions about interpretation, knowledge, and trust—issues that are particularly relevant in a time shaped by digital media, artificial intelligence, and rapidly changing information environments.
Jens Fänge (born 1965 in Gothenburg, Sweden) studied at Valand Academy of Art between 1989 and 1994 and now lives and works in Stockholm. Since the mid-1990s, he has exhibited widely in Sweden and internationally, including in Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul, and Shanghai.
In 2018, Bonniers Konsthall presented Fänge’s solo exhibition Drömmarna (The Dreams). He has also completed several public commissions and created the diplomas for the Nobel Prize in Literature between 2014 and 2016. Fänge has been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts since 2017.
The installation was made possible through the support of Lena and Per Josefsson, Elisabeth and Martin Wiwen-Nilsson, and Carl Hirsch.