World Art Utopia

She Changes — Janet Echelman

Janet Echelman's giant red net sculpture She Changes hangs on thin poles and cables over a busy seaside roundabout in Matosinhos, Portugal, with cars driving underneath
Artwork FileMatosinhos, Portugal

She Changes

SeenApr 2021

Janet Echelman · Matosinhos, Portugal

Photo: Hugo Cadavez (via Flickr) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

She Changes is Janet Echelman's giant net sculpture floating over Praça Cidade São Salvador on the border of Matosinhos and Porto, known locally as the Anémona. Dedicated in 2005 as a tribute to Matosinhos' fishing community, it had its worn net replaced by a hand-made replica that was put back and lit in April 2021. Source Source Source Reported

Seen Apr 2021. Evidence date: 2021-04-26. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. A tribute to fishermenMatosinhos council says the sculpture is a metaphor for fishing nets, in tribute to the town's fishing community. Source Reported
  2. Soft and movingEchelman's studio credits it as the first permanent, monumental public sculpture made entirely of soft, flexible membranes that move in the wind. Source Reported
  3. A new net in 2021The council removed the net in October 2020; a new one, hand-made in Maia to Echelman's specification, went back up in April 2021. Source Reported
  4. Three poles and a moving netThree steel poles support a tilted ring and a flexible, layered net. The artist describes 36 mesh sections joined by hand. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Praça Cidade São Salvador, Matosinhos · Matosinhos, Portugal Source Reported

Open in Maps

Map pin is approximate; use the named site or address to locate the work.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 20051 Jun

    About to be dedicated · Metropolis

  2. 200726 Oct

    Photo over Praça Cidade S. Salvador · camera date

  3. 201616 Sep

    Photo of the Anémona · camera date

  4. 202126 Apr

    Time Out: the anémona is back

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark removal. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Artist
Janet Echelman Source Checked
Year
2005 Source Checked
Local name
Anémona Source Checked
Net removed
October 2020 Source Checked
Pole height — studio
The artist lists poles from 25 to 50 m; the council gives 60 m for the tallest. We lean toward the artist’s project specification. Source Conflicting
Pole height — council
60 m for one pole, differing from the artist’s 25–50 m range. Source Conflicting
Replica put back
April 2021, reported by Time Out on 26 April. Source Checked
Installation year — differing report
Time Out gives 2004; the artist and city date the work to 2005, which we follow. Source Conflicting
Structure
Three steel poles support a flexible net that moves with the wind Source Checked

More photos

She Changes, the Anémona of Matosinhos, 2016
2016-09-16 · She Changes, the Anémona of Matosinhos, 2016 · Photo: Vitor Oliveira / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

In the press

Metropolis · 2005-06-01
“By giving Porto, Portugal, an active landmark, Janet Echelman altered the town’s notion of what sculpture can be.” Source Reported

Time Out Porto · 2021-04-26
“a autarquia retirou a rede para a substituir” Source
English: the council removed the net to replace it Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Hugo Cadavez (via Flickr) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art