Press invitation 23.04.28: Vanishing points - folding a view by iida-ssi
The exhibition Vanishing points: folding a view by artist duo iida-ssi examines how the applied perspective and narrative of unspoiled wilderness have shaped the view of the northern fell landscape. The press preview will be held on Thursday 11th May, 11 a.m. at Konstmuseet i Norr.
The 200 km+ distance between the lakes Gátterjávri and Ikkesjávrre is one of the largest areas in Europe without mobile phone coverage. The area is often portrayed as a vacuum, despite being an area of more than two million hectares and having a complex history. Vanishing points: folding a view by iida jonsson and ssi saarinen is an examination and reinvestigation of cartography and landscape images as critical infrastructures of knowledge – based on various stages of production of power and political dominance which create operative framed realities.
Vanishing points: folding a view investigates several problematic accounts of the area, that guide us both figuratively and literally, as a result of active framing. By surveying the dominant image of the landscape and creating a counter-cartography, artist duo iida-ssi presents an alternative representation and a parallel view of parts of this area. Thus the exhibition reconsiders the allure of nature through navigating the landscape beyond the gaze – a way of understanding the vanishing point: folding a view. Both productively and retrospectively.
Vanishing points: folding a view is both part of and departs from the artistic research project”DATA FREE ZONE SWE/SÁPMI_1” that iida jonsson and ssi saarinen – iida-ssi – have developed in collaboration with independent researcher Victoria Harnesk and curator Hampus Berganderat Konstmuseet i Norr since 2021. In conjunction with the exhibition, the research project will beissued as a publication.
‘We noticed that the data free zone stands out not only in terms of size but also in its unique political reality through its relationship with Sámi culture. For us, the big question was whether there was a link between these two and, if so, how such a connection would manifest itself,’ say iida jonsson and ssi saarinen.
iida-ssi have collaborated with Sámi researcher Victoria Harnesk, who has contributed her local knowledge and an intercultural perspective to the project.
‘My goal has been to contribute to the research process of this exhibition with a reflection on history and the present. To fill the gap between Google’s blind spots and the image of adventure that exists in parallel. I have talked to tradition bearers and dug into archives, records, literature, and maps. I have also taken into account what people that come here usually know and expect,’ Harnesk says.
In Vanishing points: folding a view, the artists have used an exploratory cartographyas an interdisciplinary method along with images, videos, sound, and spatial installations.Hampus Bergander has curated the exhibition that opens with a preview on Thursday 11th May.
‘We are extremely proud and happy to introduce Vanishing points: folding a view, which highlights issues relating to data, knowledge, information, dominant visual practices, and their accessibility. Artistic research works with methods and approaches that conventional research does not encompass. Through contemporary art, we have the possibility to offer alternative perspectives that broaden the view and provide a greater understanding of the tensions that are current in Sápmi today,’ Bergander says.
The exhibition runs from 12th May to 10th September 2023
PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE ARTISTS
Thursday, 11th May 2023 11 a.m.
Plats för skapande, 0,5 floor, Konstmuseet i Norr
Kristallen, Kiruna
PRESS KIT
A press kit for the exhibition can be downloaded from Konstmuseet i Norr’s press page from Wednesday, May 3rd.
EXHIBITION OPENING
Thursday, 11th May 2023 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Konstmuseet i Norr, floors 4–5
Kristallen, Kiruna
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Hampus Bergander
Curator, Konstmuseet i Norr
+46 73 025 38 73
hampus@konstmuseetinorr.se
IIDA JONSSON & SSI SAARINEN
iida-ssi is a collaborative duo comprising iida jonsson & ssi saarinen, active since 2013 in the autonomous region of Åland. Jonsson and Saarinen hold a Master’s degree from the Dirty Art Department, Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam (2020-2022).
The artist duo’s research practice draws on a variety of methods: photography, film, sculpture, cartography, field visits, workshops and interviews. iida-ssi often invite computer scientists, architects or historians to be part of the research process. Their research seeks to reflect and complexify the subjects they are working on, thereby suggesting parallel truths and potential alternative timelines.
RESEARCH
Victoria Harnesk (b. 1972 in Gällivare), based in Porjus, is a Sámi researcher, lecturer, author and copywriter. Harnesk focuses on creating intercultural encounters and communication through art and culture.
Victoria Harnesk has been involved in Sámi community development through chair positions inthe Vaisa Sámi Association and the Sámi Association in Stockholm, and as a member of the National Association of the Swedish Sámi (Svenska Samernas Riksförbund, SSR). Harnesk is a member of the Ájtte Mountain and Sámi Museum and chairwoman of the board of the magazine, Samefolket.Harnesk is also the coordinator of Viermie K, the Sámi cultural policy network that works tostrengthen professional cultural life in the Swedish part of Sápmi.