Britta Marakatt-Labba: Moving the Needle

Britta Marakatt-Labba is a Swedish Sami textile artist – the Sami people being the indigenous inhabitants of Sapmi, a cultural region in northern Scandinavia. A natural storyteller, Marakatt-Labba explores the culture, mythologies and histories of her people and the issues that affect them, such as climate change and industrialisation. For example, Luođđat/Tracks (2023) highlights the damaging consequences of mining and windfarm construction upon reindeer, one of the region’s native animals and a vital source of livelihood for the Sami. This is one of several narrative-style embroidered pieces featured in a retrospective of the artist’s work at the Nasjonalmuseet Oslo (15 March­–25 August). The exhibition also includes sculpture, print and installations as well as a number of early sketches, exhibited for the first time. Find out more from the Nasjonalmuseet’s website.

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Luođđat (Tracks) (2023), Britta Marakatt-Labba. Photo: Annar Bjørgli/Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo; © the artist/BONO

Lodderáidaras (The Milky Way) (2023), Britta Marakatt-Labba. Photo: Stortinget; © the artist/BONO

Girdi noaiddit (Flying Shamans) (2011–12), Britta Marakatt-Labba. Photo: Hans-Olof Utsi;
© the artist/BONO