Britta Marakatt-Labba at the Sámi Museum

Sámi everyday life and politics, historical events and mythological scenes—all coexist in the visual world of the acclaimed artist Britta Marakatt-Labba.

The exhibition’s graphic works are based on textile pieces, in which she weaves together personal experiences from life in the North with the climate crisis that affects the entire planet. Over five decades, she has created a rich and poetic narrative about the Sámi, the only recognized Indigenous people on the European continent, and their struggle for land and culture.

Marakatt-Labba was born in 1951 into a reindeer-herding family in Ađevuopmi/Idivuoma. She lives and works in Badje Sohppar/Övre Soppero, which, like Ađevuopmi, is located in the Giron/Kiruna municipality on the Swedish side of Sápmi. Her art has been shaped by her upbringing at the heart of Sámi culture. From an early age she has worked with duodji, Sámi handicraft, for example creating gákti (traditional Sámi clothing) and other types of garments from fabric and leather. To this day she dyes her own fabrics and yarns, and in her later works she often combines embroidery, print, and appliqué within the same image.

Marakatt-Labba has worked as an artist since the 1970s and has had a major influence on art in Sápmi. Since her international breakthrough in 2017 at the contemporary art exhibition Documenta 14 in Kassel, and her participation in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2022, she has received widespread international attention, and her works are now included in a large number of art collections.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Kiruna Sameförening, which operates the Sámi Museum, and Kin Museum of Contemporary Art, where additional works by Marakatt-Labba are on display.

When: between Wednesday, 18 February and Thursday, 31 December
Where: Brytaregatan 14