Attendees to the renowned gallery are familiar to unexpected encounters in its spacious Turbine Hall. They've relaxed under an simulated sun, slid down spiral slides, and seen AI-powered sea creatures floating through the air. Yet this marks the inaugural time they will be venturing themselves in the intricate nose passages of a reindeer. The latest artistic project for this cavernous space—created by Native Sámi creator Máret Ánne Sara—invites gallerygoers into a labyrinthine construction modeled after the enlarged interior of a reindeer's nose airways. Once inside, they can wander around or chill out on reindeer hides, tuning in on headphones to tribal seniors imparting narratives and wisdom.
The Significance of the Nose
Why choose the nasal structure? It might seem quirky, but the exhibit celebrates a little-known natural marvel: scientists have discovered that in less than one second, the reindeer's nose can warm the incoming air it takes in by 80 degrees celsius, helping the animal to endure in inhospitable Arctic climates. Enlarging the nose to larger than human size, Sara explains, "generates a sense of inferiority that you as a human being are not superior over nature." Sara is a ex- reporter, young adult author, and environmental activist, who hails from a herding family in the Norwegian Arctic. "Maybe that generates the chance to shift your perspective or evoke some humility," she continues.
An Homage to Traditional Ways
The labyrinthine installation is one of several elements in Sara's absorbing exhibition showcasing the heritage, science, and beliefs of the Sámi, the sole native group in Europe. Partially migratory, the Sámi number approximately 100,000 people ranged across the Norwegian north, Finland, Sweden, and Russia's Kola Peninsula (an area they call Sápmi). They have endured persecution, integration policies, and suppression of their dialect by all four states. With an emphasis on the reindeer, an creature at the heart of the Sámi belief system and founding narrative, the work also spotlights the group's struggles associated with the global warming, property rights, and colonialism.
Meaning in Elements
Along the extended entry slope, there's a soaring, 26-metre sculpture of reindeer hides ensnared by power and light cables. It represents a analogy for the societal frameworks restricting the Sámi. Partly a utility pole, part heavenly staircase, this section of the exhibit, called Goavve-, points to the Sámi word for an extreme weather phenomenon, in which dense sheets of ice develop as changing temperatures liquefy and ice over the snow, locking in the reindeers' key winter food, moss. This phenomenon is a result of planetary warming, which is taking place up to four times faster in the Far North than elsewhere.
Three years ago, I met with Sara in the Norwegian far north during a severe cold period and went with Sámi herders on their Arctic vehicles in freezing temperatures as they hauled carts of supplementary feed on to the barren frozen landscape to provide manually. The herd surrounded round us, digging the slippery ground in vain for mossy pieces. This resource-intensive and labour-intensive procedure is having a severe effect on animal rearing—and on the animals' self-sufficiency. Yet the other option is starvation. When such conditions become routine, reindeer are dying—some from hunger, others suffocating after sinking in streams through unstable frozen surfaces. In a sense, the installation is a monument to them. "Through the stacking of components, in a way I'm transporting the phenomenon to London," says Sara.
Contrasting Belief Systems
The installation also underscores the stark divergence between the modern interpretation of power as a asset to be exploited for gain and livelihood and the Sámi outlook of energy as an innate power in creatures, people, and nature. The gallery's history as a fossil fuel plant is linked with this, as is what the Sámi view as environmental exploitation by Nordic countries. As they strive to be leaders for renewable energy, Scandinavian countries have clashed with the Sámi over the development of wind energy projects, water power facilities, and extraction sites on their traditional territory; the Sámi contend their fundamental freedoms, livelihoods, and traditions are at risk. "It's very difficult being such a small minority to protect your rights when the reasons are rooted in global sustainability," Sara notes. "Mining practices has co-opted the rhetoric of sustainability, but still it's just aiming to find more suitable ways to maintain patterns of consumption."
Family Struggles
Sara and her family have themselves disagreed with the state authorities over its ever-stricter rules on herding. A few years ago, Sara's brother initiated a set of ultimately unsuccessful legal cases over the required reduction of his livestock, apparently to stop vegetation depletion. In support, Sara developed a extended collection of creations called Pile O'Sápmi featuring a colossal screen of four hundred reindeer skulls, which was shown at the 2017's event Documenta 14 and later purchased by the public gallery, where it is displayed in the lobby.
The Role of Art in Activism
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