Britta Marakatt-Labba. Moving the Needle
Using needle and thread, Britta Marakatt-Labba creates a rich and varied visual universe, at the heart of which stand the environmental struggle and climate issues seen from an indigenous perspective.
For half a century, Britta Marakatt-Labba (b. 1951 in Idivuoma, Sápmi) has been one of Sápmi’s most prominent artists. The largest exhibition of her art to date, "Britta Marakatt-Labba. Moving the Needle" presents textiles, prints, installations, and sculpture from her extensive production.
Here you can view early sketches and drawings that have never been shown before, and iconic works such as Garjját / The Crows (1981), and Girddi noaiddit / Flying Shamans (1986). At the centre of the exhibition is the monumental work Historjá, a 24-metre-long embroidery depicting scenes from Sami history, mythology, and everyday life.
Gjennom et halvt århundre har Britta Marakatt-Labba (f. 1951 i Idivuoma, Sápmi) vært en av Sápmis mest sentrale kunstnere. Utstillingen «Sylkvasse sting» er den hittil største utstillingen om hennes kunstnerskap som er laget, og viser blant annet tekstil, grafikk, installasjoner og skulptur fra den omfattende virksomheten.
I utstillingen kan du oppleve de første skissene og tegningene hennes, som aldri tidligere har vært vist, og ikoniske verk som Garjját/Kråkene (1981) og Girdi noaiddit/Flygende Sjamaner (1986). Sentralt i utstillingen står det monumentale hovedverket Historjá, et 24 meter langt broderi der hun skildrer scener fra samisk historie, mytologi og hverdagsliv.
Since the 1970s, Marakatt-Labba has emerged as a highly distinctive voice in the Nordic art world. Plying needle and thread in a range of materials of various thickness, she patiently builds a pictorial world that reflects aspects of Sami life and culture, past and present. She evokes a wealth of stories from her own experience, with a message that nature and its resources must be preserved.
For her National Museum exhibition, she has created an entirely new work that warns forcefully against the mining of minerals around her home town of Kiruna and the wide-scale industrialisation of nature. Myths, dreams, and religion are also important themes in her pictures, many of which reveal a clear sense of humour.
Working with embroidery you have time to think. With watercolours, everything happens so fast. To me, it doesn’t matter if something takes time.
Britta Marakatt-Labba, from the exhibition catalogue
Around 1980, Britta Marakatt-Labba took part in protests against the development of the Alta-Kautokeino water course. It was terrifying to see peaceful demonstrators being arrested by police. In Gárjjat / The Crows, crows represent the agents of state authority. The embroidery uses the basic similarity between the dark, carrion-eating birds and uniformed police.
In Girddi noaiddit / Flying Shamans, the police are shown as rats herded into the sea by flying noaids. The noaid is a shaman who mediates between the worlds of humans and spirits, moving from place to place in a trance and protecting against harmful forces. These works have become icons for new protests. During Sami demonstrations in Oslo in 2023, Garjját was heard again as a rallying cry and joik.
As an artist and environmental activist, Britta Marakatt-Labba has been a source of inspiration for a new generation of young people fighting for nature conservation in general and Sami rights in particular. In 1978, she helped to establish Mázejoavku (the Masi group), a politically radical artist group that has become a major force in raising the profile of Sami art and safeguarding the rights of Sami artists.
In 2017, Britta Marakatt-Labba made a major international breakthrough with her participation in the contemporary art exhibition “documenta 14” in Germany. She has been purchased for many museums and private collections, and has received a wide range of prizes and awards. In 2020, she was awarded the Prins Eugen medal for outstanding artistic achievement. After countless exhibitions at home and abroad over the past forty years, she is now considered one of the foremost textile artists in Sápmi and the Nordic region.
Visit the exhibition in 3D
Presseomtale
– Lagabui 170.000 olbmo leat galledan sámi dáidačájáhusa Oslos.
– Sommerens, årets og kanskje tiårets kunstopplevelse.
– When I enquire about the proudest achievement of her career, she beams – it is this exhibition.
– Noe av det beste man har kunnet oppleve i hovedstaden på lenge.
– Att få uppleva Britta Marakatt-Labbas mästerverk är en nåd.
– Britta Marakatt-Labbas «Sylkvasse sting» på Nasjonalmuseet er en vakker utstilling om samisk hverdagsliv og kultur.
– Sami artist pioneer at the National Museum of Norway.
– Du må stå i kø for å se hovedverket. Det er verdt ventetiden.
– Britta Marakatt-Labbas myldrende verden av samisk historie, mytologi og aktivisme fortjener et skikkelig stort publikum. Nå ligger alt til rette for det.
– Britta Marakatt-Labbas utstilling på Nasjonalmuseet viser at alternative livsformer til kapitalismen er mulig å billedliggjøre.
– Ruvende utstilling: Poesi, politikk og samisk inspirasjon
– Med nål og tråd forteller den uforlignelige Britta Marakatt-Labba samenes historie. «Sylkvasse sting» rommer sorg, kjærlighet og fandenivoldsk hevnlyst.
– Jeg tror jeg kan love deg at dette er en utstilling du aldri kommer til å glemme.
– Čuohcci epihkalaš sákkastagat mat guoskkahit áiggi áibbašeami.
– Nasjonalmuseet understreker et forventet konfliktfelt i den store og betimelige presentasjonen av Britta Marakatt-Labba. Samtidig er hvert enkelt broderiverk en usedvanlig opplevelse.
– Historisk utstilling på Nasjonalmuseet.
– Det er den største utstillingen noensinne med Brittas verker.
Prosjektleder: Espen Kregnes, Silje Hyenes Lysne
Kurator utstilling: Anne Sommerin Simonnæs, Randi Godø
Kurator formidling: Camilla Frøland Sramek
Pressekontakt: Rannveig Falkenberg-Arell
