Nina Canell's Shedding Sheaths at Art Basel Unlimited explores fiber-optic waste and energy infrastructure

Nina Canell presents her sculptural installation Shedding Sheaths at Art Basel's Unlimited sector in 2016, curated by Gianni Jetzer. The work utilizes discarded plastic sheaths from fiber-optic cables found on Seoul's outskirts, compressed into slabs that suggest fatigued containers. Canell's decade-long investigation into energy infrastructure between objects and living things informs the piece, which also includes a thin sine wave and a limp neon tube with weakened current. She describes cables as hosts modulating content, where output reflects distance traveled and contact made, creating a sculptural consistency through signal loss. The installation's quiet presence contrasts with the oversaturated environment of the international art fair, prompting reflection on circularity and insulated transfers. Canell previously created a 2009-2010 work synchronizing blackouts in ten households via remote signal. Her next project involves a kinetic sculpture storing rudimentary movement activated by heat. The work is presented with galleries Barbara Wien (Berlin), Daniel Marzona (Berlin), and Mother's Tankstation (Dublin).