Rán Flygenring (b. 1987, Oslo) is an Icelandic author and illustrator. Trained in graphic design at the Iceland University of the Arts (B.A., 2009) and later in philosophy at the University of Iceland (B.A., 2024), Flygenring’s practice is deliberately multidisciplinary: she writes, draws, gives talks and workshops, live‑scribes at conferences, paints murals, stages playful installations and publishes humorous yet punchy artivism comics. Her guiding question is how visual storytelling can help translate and discuss complex natural phenomena and ethical questions.
During the past decade, Flygenring has become a voice in Nordic climate communication. Eldgos (Angústúra, 2022) juxtaposes the awe of a Reykjanes lava fountain with the itchy banality of a head‑lice outbreak, gently asking whether our responses to planetary upheaval differ from our everyday fears. Beyond lava, Flygenring’s oeuvre maps Icelandic nature and culture with equal humour and rigour: Birds, Horses and Elves (with Hjörleifur Hjartarson, 2018-2023) and Tjörnin (Angústúra 2024), another picture book that through a colourful adventure about two friends and a pond puts forward questions about natural resources, human domination over nature and biodiversity in urban areas. Rán regularly collaborates with NGOs and universities on graphic reportage, bringing together scientists, policy‑makers and young readers around questions of biodiversity and nature.
