Jessica Anne Hallbäck (born 1981) is a Swedish artist and writer based in Malmö.

She first gained recognition in the early 2010s through her adbusts in the Stockholm subway – interventions where she reversed advertising posters and replaced them with handwritten messages and drawings. With humor, sharp social commentary and a distinctive hand-drawn style, the works addressed power, gender roles and social norms. The pieces quickly spread through social media and became a recurring presence in the subway system.

At the same time she developed the street art series Angry Animals, graphic images of seemingly cute animals carrying socially critical messages. The series used playful and childlike imagery as a contrast to serious political themes.

Today Hallbäck primarily works with painting, where animals continue to appear as recurring subjects. In many works the teddy bear has become a central figure in her visual universe. Moving between childhood, fantasy and symbolism, the teddy bear becomes both observer and storyteller – a character through which questions of safety, vulnerability and strength are explored.

She also paints portraits of children as artistic works. These paintings explore childhood expression and perspective, moving between playfulness and deeper reflection.

Hallbäck has published two books with her texts and images: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun(damental Rights) (2018) and I Can’t Believe I Still Have to Protest This Shit (2022).

Alongside her studio practice she has created several public artworks and continues to work at the intersection of image, text and social commentary.