Anny Wang and Tim Söderström work together as the creative duo Wang & Söderström in Copenhagen. Both were invited to OFFF in Barcelona this year to share their impressions with this blog’s readers.
“We got the chance to exchange new ideas and discuss them with incredible people and listen to inspiring talks. Since this was our first time at OFFF we didn’t know what to expect. We definitely enjoyed how everything felt thought-through, from the architectural elements of the venue to the presentation of the speakers and the stage,” says Tim Söderström.
“What we liked the most was the overall vibe and atmosphere, something that probably comes as an extension from Barcelona. After lunch and a beer in the sun it was a bit harsh to venture back into the impressive mainstage and we often found ourselves watching a presentation at the “Open Room” stage instead. We like the spectrum of presentations we saw here, from visual artist Santiago Carrasquilla to the unconventional studio O,” says Anny Wang.
Wasted Rita was the favourite speaker
“However our favourite speaker spoke on the mainstage and it was graphic designer and illustrator ‘Wasted Rita’. It was both hilarious and powerful. She really made a great impact on us as she turned her insecurity, humour and vulnerability to a weapon. To provoke and make a statement. We will definitely visit OFFF festival again,” says Tim Söderström.
Digital work into more physical elements
Wang & Söderström are currently exploring ways of expressing their ideas in new mediums and cross-interacting their usual tools with new ones. Anny and Tim are really looking forward to interpreting their digital work into more physical elements and at the same time utilising and pushing the duo’s digital universe. The OFFF experience has kickstarted this further:
“Right now we get inspired by artists that are able to create a whole universe around them. Either by starting to work in multidisciplinary ways to push their work further or possessing the power to create the big perspective,” says Anny Wang.
“Emerging from the DIY-era and the longing for nature and its chaotic honesty, we see that more people explore the beauty within the imperfections. A reaction to when the design community’s work becomes too perfect that it ends up being hollow and uninteresting. We also experience that more and more people start to work in multidisciplinary ways to push their work further. An artist’s signum isn’t found in a single format anymore, but rather the artist’s full universe. Our work draws inspiration from all and every corner of the creative field,” says Anny Wang.
5 that inspires Wang & Söderström right now
The below five artists inspire Anny and Tim at the moment and they are all specialised in different areas whilst creating a whole universe for themselves.”
Ella Boucht, STOCKHOLM / HELSINKI
