The exhibition “In the footsteps of the stars—Britta Marakatt-Labba’s embroidered worlds” is now at the Kin museum in Kiruna. It is also her first major exhibition at home.
– It is important for me to also be well received by my own people, says Britta Marakatt-Labba.
Britta Marakatt-Labba has traveled the world with her art. Now over 70 works created over five decades are collected for the public to see. With art, she wants to show Sami history through time and also highlight Sami culture and what is happening right now, the fight for the lands and the changing climate.
– I think it is important that the exhibition is shown right here, because there is so much opposition to the Sami here. My job as an artist is to try to prevent resistance through my pictures, she says.
Hope politicians see it
The artwork Historjá, a 24 meter long embroidery, is displayed in the entrance of the town hall. It shows Sami history, mythology and the present. It received a lot of attention at the Documenta 14 exhibition in Kassel, Germany in 2017 and Britta is pleased that it came to Kiruna.
– So good that it is here. When it was on display in Oslo, I heard from Norwegian politicians that they only now understand Sami culture after seeing the work. The 24 meters bring a lot of Sami cultural history, she says.
The fact that it is in the entrance of Kiruna city hall gives her the hope that the municipal politicians who work in the building will stop and look at it.
– I also want to encourage people who work in the mining industry to see the exhibition so that they get an idea of our world. That it’s not just mines, hunting, fishing and things like that that exist, says Britta Marakatt-Labba.