Sámi artist Anders Sunna powerfully reflects on his deeply personal history, marked by the complex struggle for Sámi rights. Born into a reindeer herding family from Kieksiäisvaara, on the Swedish side of Sápmi, Sunna draws inspiration from his background - a family that has been subjected to state repression and demands, resulting in unreasonable sacrifices and losses.
The exhibition presents a broad spectrum of works, including paintings, sculptures, as well as large-scale installations and symbolic use taken from art history, contemporary art and Sámi culture.
Through his art, Sunna portrays his family's long struggle against forced displacement and loss of reindeer tags, a strain that has marked generations and created a deep distrust of society. These personal and collective stories form the core of his artistry.
Sunna's involvement also extends to issues of social justice and environmental issues. How modernization, exploitation and mining threaten the Sámi culture, and indigenous peoples throughout the world, as well as the natural ecosystem. By reproducing and reinterpreting traditional Sámi motifs in a contemporary context, Sunna invites reflection on belonging while posing an open question about how laws and regulations that are supposed to protect us do not protect us all, but exclude certain groups in society.
Sunna has a background with studies at Konstfack, Stockholm. His work has been shown at several prestigious museums, galleries and biennials in Sweden and internationally, including Àbadakone at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (2019), the Biennale in Sydney, NIRIN (2020), the Venice Biennale (2022), Moderna Museet (2023) and Nitja Senter for Samtidskunst , Norway (2024).
His art is not only a reaction to the marginalization of Sámi communities, but also a powerful tool for activism that appeals for both change and understanding.
Exhibition dates: 22 February - 26 April, 2025
