Gutted – Gávogálši

Art historian Irene Snarby talks about  Máret Ánne Sara`s work.

Irene Snarby 
They are in a way story-bearers, these stomachs, because they tell a story about the sustainability of this material. 
  
I think that a lot of what's being created in the Sami artists community belongs among material-based art - a lot of it has to do with material knowledge. 
 
So… I think that indigenous art is very much about sustainability, and about respect for Mother Earth, and about not leaving a trace. That you simply understand that you are part of nature, that you are not above it. And also… that you should be... That you should respect what you have around you. 
For example, if you slaughter an animal, you use the entirety of the animal.  
But this is part of the old nomadic lifestyle – where you had to use the things you had. So… you used the whole animal – it was really "nose-to-tale" - and the stomachs were a resource because they could be used for so many things! 
 
Màret Ànne Sara comes from working in Gouivdageino in Kautokeino. Her artworks are about her life as a reindeer herding Sámi, and how they are so connected to the reindeer, and to the lifestyle that you have as a reindeer-herding Sámi.  
So, she has also made installations like this with surplus material, after what couldn't be eaten or made into clothes had been collected. 
 
Her brother has built up a reindeer herd that has resulted in the Norwegian authorities coming after him. They think that the herd has become too big. And… they want him to slaughter so many of them, that it would no longer be possible to live off the herd. This is causing a great despair for her whole family, who potentially risk ending up outside their cultural setting and lifestyle, which is all they know. 
 
She gives the traumas a face by creating these works of art that are very explicit. 
 
When we say “butterflies in my stomach” it’s a reference to excitement and anticipation. Whereas with guts… it's more like you understand that something bad is going to happen... This feeling is very strong in animals - reindeer have this, and other animals that get very scared suddenly. They can have very physical reactions to something happening in their stomach. Humans also get this feeling in our stomachs... A gut feeling… We say this...