An old Sami word of wisdom says that it is not the people who own the earth, but the earth who owns the people. Sami children learn to respect animals and nature. “We don’t scream in the forest”, is something you hear from a young age, Anders Sunna tells me, as we stand at Nitja. He has chosen precisely this admonition as the title for his powerful total installation, which now fills the large exhibition hall at Lillestrøm. The whole artistic project is like a wild, despairing scream from the forests. A scream that is not heard anyway. SKOGALTER: In the exhibition, we get to feel the grotesque contrast between the Sami’s way of life, which is based on a tradition spanning thousands of years, and the commercial mining operation, which destroys the Sami’s basis of life, and demolishes their old places of sacrifice. Anders Sunna is an artist with wind in his sails. Among other things, he was one of three Sami artists who represented the Nordic region at the Venice Biennale in 2022. Sunna comes from Jokkmokk in Norbotten in Sweden, and has an education from both Umeå Art School and Konstfack in Stockholm. In addition, he brings with him a broad knowledge of, and experience with, the ancient Sami handicraft traditions duodji. It is a powerful experience to enter the exhibition. Here, Sunna has created what he calls a forest courtroom with slender fir trunks and dry pine stumps. The entire installation is a reflection on the authorities’ abuse of power against the Sami. In Sunna’s courtroom, you can choose to sit on a sort of prosecution bench, or simply rig yourself up in the high judge’s seat, and perhaps ponder a little about what a court is really for. Historical experience of injustice With the law, conflicts between people are transformed into something distanced and administrative. For Sunna, this is about putting on the agenda how the authorities in the Nordic region have systematically adapted, and sometimes changed, the laws in order to serve and protect their own financial interests at the expense of the Sami people. TRADITIONAL GRAFFITI: Here, too, we see an example of Sunna’s fragmentary style, where he stitches together different idioms and styles. Here we see that the graffiti effect comes through very clearly, but with the shape of the oval shaman’s drum as a clear reference to the spiritual Sami heritage. Photo: Anders Sunna At the heart of the forest court are thick books, each on its own pedestal. These are the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish laws. Each of the collections of laws is pierced by a Sami knife. There is something rebellious and aggressive about this. As an expression of a historical experience of injustice. Different idioms and styles The first thing that meets us on the way into the courtroom is a monumental image created as a combination of painting and collage. Here he creates a powerful collage of different styles and idioms. The graffiti aesthetic characterizes it all. But here we also find traditional Sami motifs such as the shaman’s drum, and stylized petroglyph-like reindeer. These are juxtaposed against elements from the Western academy tradition: classical portraiture, romantic landscape painting, art nouveau-inspired plant ornaments and sections function as small abstract paintings. A powerful landscape forms the backdrop. We see a wide river course that beautifully reflects the blue twilight light. DETAILED MOTIVES: At first glance, this may look like a slightly kitschy, postcard-like winter landscape. A frozen river and scattered fir trees, against a pale winter sky. But when I get closer, I see a wealth of different motifs that seem to emerge from the snowy landscape, as if out of a thick fog. Among other things, we see a policeman getting out of a police car and the interior of a courtroom. Photo: Nitja center for contemporary art On a ridge in the background, buildings stand out against the shimmering evening sky: There are Stockholm’s historic parliament building, the racial biology institute in Uppsala and the old, beautiful Pajala church. These are different bodies of power that have contributed in different ways to the oppression and marginalization of the Sami. The face of oppression Central to the picture, he has painted various powerful men from different eras. The production of these is also characterized by the classical, western portrait tradition. Here we find the Swedish king Gustav Vasa, standing with his legs wide apart in his magnificent Renaissance attire. He was the one who introduced the so-called “patch tax”. We also find the 18th-century botanist Carl von Linné with his white Rococo wig. He is best known for categorizing plants and animals, and giving them their Latin names. But, he was also the first to make formal classifications of human races. THE MEN BEHIND: The picture refers to various government officials who, throughout Sweden’s history, have influenced and restricted the Sami’s freedom and opportunity to express themselves. Mining in particular is the starting point for much of Sunna’s artistic fury. The lucrative iron mining operations, which have eaten away at the reindeer’s pasture and displaced the Sami from what has been their land for centuries. Photo: Tor Simen Ulstein / Kunstdok A more modern figure of power sits in an armchair. It is Hjalmar Lundbom, who was director of the state-owned mining company LKAB. He represents the interests of capital, which throughout history have always won at the expense of the Sami. On the other side of the painting we see tall figures in Sami jackets, one of them carrying a shaman’s drum. They have death’s heads and appear only as an army of shadows, which are about to disappear into the background. Although Sunna’s art is highly political and narrative, he does not fully explain the text to us. There is much left to ponder in the face of the fascinating motifs. STRONG POWERS: This picture shows the remains of an old Sami shaman who were supposedly dug up for research purposes, but where there were so many powerful jokes that they just had to bury him again. Here the shaman’s remains are painted resting in a cart. Photo: Anders Sunna Personal and historical rage As I walk around this enigmatic installation, I feel the strong personal and historical rage found in Sunna’s art. His own family has been fighting since the 70s to be allowed to continue reindeer herding. An endless and futile struggle against the state. But it’s also about the eternal aspect of this fight. The fact that it has always been like this, and that, sadly enough, it continues to this day. Just think of the Fosen case. When even a Supreme Court judgment is not respected, what should the Sami people do to win? How loud and shrill must the scream from the forests or the plain really be? I love Sunna’s expressive power and his almost sinister anger. This exhibition is simply the syllabus! news reviews Exhibition: “Anders Sunna: We don’t scream in the forest.” » Artist: Anders Sunna Curator: Martina Petrelli and Michiel Brouwer Time: 13.1.24 to 11.2.24 Place: Nitja center for contemporary art Estimated time: 20 to 40 minutes
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We don’t scream in the forest” at Nitja center for contemporary art – Reviews and recommendations
