[maa-too-ae] southern Sámi: origins, ancestral homelands and heritage
In this exhibition, Anders Sunna and Michiel Brouwer raise questions about Swedish Sámi policy, racism and exploitation by the Swedish government. Both artists are passionate about communicating that which is kept silent. They want to challenge, provoke and share a more profound view of historical and current conflicts. The work started out in Sweden and is developing the connection to the three other countries that contain Sápmi.
Anders Sunna’s paintings tell a deeply personal and painful Sámi family history about relocations and oppression, that has continued for over 40 years in Tornedalen. The personal history of the Sunna family is expressed through Anders Sunna’s art, and challenges those in power today, in the Tornedalen county.
In contrast, and in addition to this, Michiel Brouwer’s clinical photographs represent powerful reminders of Sámi history and what the Swedish government is capable of. Photographs of how people were used as tools in the scientific theories of eugenics are shown alongside contemporary documentation and portraits expressing the Sunna family’s struggle.
The exhibition balances between contemporary painting and documentary photography, between human emotions and cold bureaucracy. The two different artistic expressions are intertwined with shared thematic and one artistic goal.