The archives of Matti Aikio:The idea and image of nature and why self-determination of indigenous peoples is so crucial for all of us
The archives of Matti Aikio:The idea and image of nature and why self-determination of indigenous peoples is so crucial for all of us
What are the values that modern life holds onto? What happens to these values in the middle of a pandemic when it is not possible to buy our way to happiness as usual? What processes happen to individuals and communities, for example, when restrictions are handed down by governments, and monetary compensation is provided in the absence of living as one might intend?
Being prevented from living in an accustomed way is a familiar feeling for many indigenous peoples, including Sámi communities, who are often caught between the extremes that exist within the nature policies of nation-states – from the non-indigenous perspective, nature is seen either as a resource to be extracted unsustainably, or as a place of ‘intact nature’ that needs to be strictly protected from almost any human influence, including those of indigenous ways of life. This is the case even if these indigenous cultures and practices have been an essential part of these particular ecosystems for millennia.
Under Barents Spektakel 2021, Matti Aikio connects these issues through a new process-based work which will open up questions of how and why these different ways of living on this planet are in constant conflict and what exactly are the fundamentals beyond these opposite forces.
Through a growing archive of materials, and a process-based production residency that begins in the middle of January and continues to develop throughout the festival week, Aikio will present and activate a collection of books, texts, notes, photos, sounds, and video clips relating to this topic.
Matti Aikio’s work was developed in dialogue with Pikene på Broen for Barents Spektakel 2021 and is one of det gode liv // The Sweetness of Living commissions.