Friis does not imitate the laws and biological systems of nature, but instead seems to touch on its primal forms in a wild yet controlled expressive interpretation. This is a form of art where there is an unmistakable presence of the hand. At the same time, the works give the impression of denying the centrality of handicraft. It is as if Friis, via the engagement of the hands, also has set the works free – they are what they are single-handedly.
The mixture of organic forms and synthetic materials, such as imitation leather or plastic, in some of Friis’s works may seem like a paradox. As the art critic Jorunn Veiteberg has observed: “This embrace of both the natural and the artificial is one of several paradoxes in Friis’ art. That her sculptures are both abstract and physical, beautiful and disquieting, are two others... Throughout history, different materials have been given different values. These are not simply inherentqualities, but also values created by the social and historical circumstances in which they existed, and the uses to which they have been put, particularly with regards to gender. By repeating the same motif in materials so different as velvet, plastic and concrete, Friis reveals some of these differing values."