Listening to the Land

Electric Lies: Broken Ground | Työryhmä: Camilla Therese Karlsen, Madhumita Nandi, Elisabeth Heilmann Blind, Lars Henrik Blind, Aleksi Nittyvuopi, Darlene Naponse ja Marit Shirin Carolasdotter

Lars Henrik Blind, Aleksi Niittyvuopio, Darlene Naponse, Elisabeth Heilmann Blind, Marit Shirin Carolasdotter, Camilla Therese Karlsen, Toumas Rounakari, Madhumita Nandi.

Sámi multitalented artist Camilla Therese Karlsen is a choreographer and curator putting together this performative installation reflecting on the meaningful connection between Indigenous people, traditional culture and healthy living nature. The project is called ”Electric Lies: Broken Ground” and focuses on the problematic rhetoric around the ”green shift” in energy production, the many lies served to the public to verify political choices, and how indigenous culture ends up drawing the short straw and in some cases being held accountable for slowing down development. With her residency at Saari, she has a strong body of professional artists from different fields of art and with different indigenous backgrounds.

This idea stems from the recent conflict around the industrial windmillpark at Fosen. A group of Indigenous artists from different cultures develop crossover expressions reflecting on the theme with varying perspectives like ”the grief of the earth” or ”listening to the land through the body”. They work interdisciplinary in the group and also get workshops and inspiration from other artists like Toumas Rounakari, Britta Marakatt Labba and Per Isaac Juuso during this summer’s artistic adventure.

During the research, they started looking for formats and materials to produce a visual, poetic, performative exhibition. Through the utilisation of joik, visual elements, poetry and movement, ’Electric Lies: Broken Ground’ seeks to uncover and illuminate the concealed truths that are often disregarded or dismissed in the public dialogue. This artistic endeavour aims to bring attention to the complex and urgent environmental and social issues that our society is facing. By challenging the conventional beliefs and assumptions underlying the ”green shift” in energy production, we aim to present fresh perspectives to these challenges.

We believe that the performative installation will offer a platform for meaningful dialogue and encourage viewers to question their own relationship with nature, the environment, and how we use the natural resources.

 

The workgroup at Saari was

Camilla Therese Karlsen, sea Sámi from Norway, dancer, acrobat, choreographer, curator and poet
Madhumita Nandi, from India with roots in the Bengaldelta, visual artist, photography
Elisabeth Heilmann Blind, Inuit from Greenland, Inuit mask dancer and butoh dancer
Lars Henrik Blind, Sámi from Sweden, traditional joik artist and poet
Aleksi Nittyvuopio, Sámi from Finland, juggler and object manipulator
Darlene Naponse, First Nation from Canada, filmmaker and poet
Marit Shirin Carolasdotter, from Sweden, Sámi and Kurdic roots, dancer and choreographer