Museum of Contemporary Circumpolar Art (MCCA)

“The birch bowl is made in the traditional way, same with the axe. The axe head is an old one that I have polished, and I have etched the Sveaskog logo on it. Sveaskog is a state-owned forest company, and they have been in conflict many times with Sami reindeer herders because of deforestation, that’s why I made this piece. The bowl represents the forest, nature, reindeer herding and Sápmi. The axe represents the forest companies and deforestation. The axe creates an imbalance in the bowl, in the same way that deforestation creates an imbalance in nature and reindeer husbandry. The reindeers are forced away from their grazing areas.” At the bottom of the bowl is a gárdi/girdnu where reindeer herders separate their reindeers. And after they are done they let the reindeers go back to their feeding grounds/nature. The tracks out from the gárdi go out back to the nature/feeding grounds, but there is the axe (the forest industries) that separates the tracks/road, so the reindeers can't go back to their traditional feeding grounds and have to find new grounds. So the axe creates an unbalance to nature and disturbs wildlife and reindeers."