[Read and download the exhibition catalogue here]
Summer Exhibition
Gálgat mohkiid, duogŋat gokčasiid
This year’s Summer Exhibition, Gálgat mohkiid, duogŋat gokčasiid, focuses on the Sámi presence – or lack of it – in the history of Kunstnerforbundet. The exhibition is based on the exhibition commemorating the work of the Sámi pioneer and graphic artist John Savio (1902-1938) in 1939, organised by his friends and the board of Kunstnerforbundet shortly after the young artist’s death. For the cultural scene in Oslo, this memorial exhibition was the first major presentation of Savio’s work.
Gálgat mohkiid, duogŋat gokčasiid also reflects on the institution’s long-standing, but until now forgotten, contact with Sámi duodji practitioners. Today, Manndalsgrene is the name given to a woven blanket or rug made with a distinctive weaving technique on a standing loom. The Sámi rátnogođđin or grene weaving tradition dates back at least 1400 years and has been practised in several areas of Sápmi. The rátnu or grener were traditionally used as bed covers, covering in sleds and as tent cover, and as barters or for sale. The original grener were woven from sheep’s wool in natural white, gray, and black horizontal patterns, as well with striped patterns using colours made of plants or chemical dyes. This traditional textile craft almost disappeared after the burning of the counties of Finnmark and Northern Troms at the end of World War II. Since the post-war period, this grene weaving tradition on the standing loom has been preserved in Manndalen, a Sea Sámi village in Troms. In 1956, Kunstnerforbundet collaborated with Foreningen Brukskunst (The Association of Applied Arts) to present Sámi grener in a crafts exhibition that attracted attention of the press and public. Until the 1980s, Kunstnerforbundet commissioned and sold the Manndalsgrener. Today, Manndalsgrener and other Sámi grener are used as decorative wall hangings, both in private homes and public buildings.
With Savio’s practice and Manndalsgrener as the two main archival threads serving as background, the exhibition gathers different generations of contemporary artists and duodji practitioners connected to Sápmi. Which Sámi narratives were given place in the young Norwegian nation-state, and what became of Sámi voices in the Norwegianization policy era? And which Sámi narratives will there be space for in our time, after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has investigated and reported the consequences of Norwegianization and the injustices committed by the state against the Sámi and Kven/Finnish Norwegian people? The exhibition aims to shed light on forgotten historical events that have been lying under the covers.
The North Sámi exhibition title Gálgat mohkiid, duogŋat gokčasiid uses terms from the grene weaving tradition, and can be translated as combing and untangling the winding warp threads on the warp-weighted loom, and to mend holes in bed covers. Each word with a layered multitude of meanings, the title also refers to finding and highlighting complex and hidden stories.
In addition to woodcuts by John Savio, the first programme in Sámi on national broadcast television, archival newspaper clippings, and traditional Manndalsgrener, the exhibition features new productions and recent works by Monica L. Edmondson, Bente Geving, Mihkkal Hætta, Elina Juopperi, Márjá Karlsen, Elina Waage Mikalsen, Hilde Skancke Pedersen with Gerlinde Thiessen, Irene Rasmussen, Gjert Rognli, Mary Ailonieida Sombán Mari, Lada Suomenrinne, Silje Figenschou Thoresen, and Jostein Venås.
In parallel to the exhibition, Kunstnerforbundet’s sales department presents works of Tomas Colbengtson, Hanne Grete Einarsen, Brit Fuglevaag, Johanne Marie Hansen-Krone, Geir Tore Holm, Pia Jannok with Ove Stødle, Naina Helén Jåma, Laila Susanne Kuhmunen, Laila Labba, Martine Line and Eiril Linge, Christin Løkke, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Åsne Kummeneje Mellem, Tonje Plur, Margrethe Pettersen, Máret Ánne Sara, Ingemund Skålnes, Marita Isobel Solberg, Marte Lill Somby and Kristin Tårnesvik.
The exhibition poster is illustrated and designed by Kine Yvonne Kjær.
Gálgat mohkiid, duogŋat gokčasiid is curated by artist, curator, and head of communications at Kunstnerforbundet, Raisa Porsanger, in collaboration with Atelier Kunstnerforbundet curator, Martina Petrelli.
The exhibition opens on Thursday, 30 May at 18:00 and will be open until Sunday, 30 June according to Kunstnerforbundet's opening hours (Tue-Fri, 11-17 / Sat-Sun, 12-16).
On Saturday, 1 June, curator Raisa Porsanger will give a guided tour of the exhibition in North Sámi. The tour will start at 12:00 at the National Museum with a tour of Britta Marakatt-Labba’s solo exhibition Moving the Needle, then continues to Kunstnerforbundet – only a few minutes’ walk. (Please note this event will be in North Sámi only)
Tuesday, 18 June at 17:00: Why is Isalill Kolpus so obsessed with John Savio? The event starts with a guided tour in the exhibition with the curators, followed by a stand-up show with comedian Isalill Kolpus. (Please note this event will be in Norwegian only) Read more here.
Thursday 27 June at 18:00: Kunsthistorie på Kunstnerforbundet #16: Monica Grini — Whose (art) history? Sámi art and national stories. (Please note this event will be in Norwegian only) Read more here.
The exhibition is supported by the Sámi Parliament of Norway, Fritt Ord Foundation, and The Finnish-Norwegian Cultural Institute.
Many thanks to Kunst på Arbeidsplassen (Art in the Workplace) for the loan of the works of John Savio, and to Manndalen Husflidslag (Manndalen Crafts Association), Norsk Folkemuseum, and The National Library of Norway for their generous support of the exhibition’s research process.
