TEACH ME SOMETHING

A four day workshop in Kautokeino with students from Sámi University, Lapland University, Nesna University Collage and the Iceland Academy of the Arts. Teacher(s) Gunnvor Guttorm (SUC), Britta Marakatt Labba (SUC), Ásthildur Jónsdóttir (IAA), Gunndís Ýr Finnbogadóttir (IAA), Elina Härkönen (UOL) 

The workshop main focus was to find ways to collaborate and to share local and Nordic knowledge. The process focused on generating knowledge through experience and improvisation, some passed on from our past generations. From the common knowledge and from openness to new knowledge, on ways to make things, ontologies and ways of life, the students created installations and sculptures in groups. These works might be best looked at as some kind of materialization of the dialogical workshop. The students developed their ideas and conversations from presentations of research by master students of duodji, social games and group work. Although very related and intertwined, you will be able to locate three works:  

Connecting the Dots: Celebrating Connectedness
Materials: found objects, thread. This piece was about connections and showed curves and intersections between us participants. The intersections were connections between our cultures. The work was an enjoyable conversation and it was a kind of festival of decorators as everybody suggested references to the culture of the North. In our opinion nature is the strongest link between us.  

Untitled
Materials: willow branches, reindeer horns, lasso. The circular form represents the earth, sun and moon and is a commonly used symbol in many cultures as in Sami. The work is placed on the hill, not only because it makes the artwork more dynamic, but because to us, it represents tradition that is on the move. Not downhill but forward to distance unknown.  

Threads of home
Materials: textile, tread, paper, reindeer horns. The work is our attempt to link the cultures of those involved in the project. One could say that the threads that went around the lavvu structure are also connected to the northern sky. Threads that connect individual stars form a path through the whole star systems. The piece was based on the participants intuition where everyone of us suggested connections to cultural heritage.    

​Caption
Photographers: Catrine Hole (1-5), Elina Härkönen (6-7), Ásthildur Jónsdóttir (8), Victoria Schreiner (9-11) & Johanna Tuovinen (12-13)