something is slowly moving in a different direction

noe beveger seg sakte i en annen retning [something is slowly moving in a different direction] is an exhibition presenting five young Sami artists together with one of the most influential and well known—Iver Jåks (1932–2007).

Iver Jåks thought of his art works as in constant processçthey are meant to ultimately fall apart, disintegrate and be gone—subject to the same processes, which forms the foundations for the rest of our lives. The small sculptural works in wood, reindeer horn or stone can be installed in different ways. There is never just one perfect choice, not a fixed point of view—he allowed other persons, situations and circumstances like weather into his process. The work of the hand is always at the core, the connection to context, nature and the human always central. Iver Jåks oeuvre was one of transformation. Thus, his works always point to the possibility of change, of something new emerging. It´s the past and the now that carries this openness within them.

Ragna Misvær Grønstad´s work process takes place in what in Sami mythology is called Sáivu, a lake with a double bottom, below which a parallel world is found. This poetic and imaginary room allows for blurred boundaries between reality and imagination. Out of these visits comes large wood engravings, which Ragna Misvær Grønstad describes as doorways, and drawings. It´s a floating universe, full of fish, seaweed and salt water flowers—a subaquatic herbarium of plants, thoughts and narratives.

In her work Vandret linje [wandered line] Silje Figenschou Thoresen performs a re-appropriation of Sami history. The drawings are copied from descriptions of the archaeological findings in Northern Norway by Danish archaeologist Povl Simonsen. He was the first to prove, in the 1950s, that the Sami people had lived in the area since the land was free of ice—still a controversial statement since many legal issues concerning land rights are informed by history.

The repressed Sami history is also the focus for Sissel M. Bergh, who investigates how the South Sami language, spoken around the Trondheim area, has influenced names on places, animals, plants and forms in nature in an on going project. As with archaeology, etymology is an area of knowledge, which carries political implications. The impact of losing connections to the past, through history and language, is expressed in her large root installation.

Niilas Helander´s work highlights a third complicated notion—that of genealogy—and another hidden part of Sami history in his work—the history of those who are not reindeer herders. While the Sami reindeer herder for many stands as a symbol for the Sami culture, the fishing or farming Sami communities have had less visibility and presence. The work is a reminder of the variety of Sami cultures and points to labour and social class as factors not often included in the discussion.

Identity and politics are also central topics in Carola Grahn´s practise, and often expressed in writing. In this exhibition she presents works that she describes as a form of materialized writing about body, ethnicity and belonging. Notes on hide are fragmented and framed thoughts, abstract and yet physical. The reindeer hide is in itself a political reference to the lack of indigenous rights, and a violent history, but it also talks about warmth and humour.

The title of the exhibition refers both to Iver Jåks view on art—which is also present in the younger artists’ practices—and to an increasing interest and respect for the Sami cultures. Visibility and pride are growing alongside processes of rewriting of history and an interest for language.

Featuring: Sissel M. Bergh, Carola Grahn, Ragna Misvær Grønstad, Niilas Helander, Iver Jåks and Silje Figenschou Thoresen

2017 marks the centennial for the first Sami gathering, which took place in Trondheim – Tråante.

In connection to the exhibition we will arrange a seminar in August on South Sami language in collaboration with Sissel M. Bergh. More information will follow.

Thanks to The Sami Parliament of Norway and Inger and Iver Jåks Foundation.