Catnosat: Indigenous Art, Knowledge and Sovereignty - Spiral

by Liisa-Ravna Finbog (Editor), Katya García-Antón (Editor), Beaska Niillas (Editor)

This "exercise in Sámification" highlights Sámi Indigenous knowledge across all fields of art and life

In 2022, Sámi artists present their art and worldview at the Venice Biennale for the first time, representing Sápmi (the Sámi homeland that spans Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula). The Sámi pavilion revolves around three key elements: transgenerational relations; holistic Sámi knowledge and learning; and Sámi spiritual perspectives. This slipcased spiralbound volume serves as a project in its own right, considering Sámi notions of nonlinear time and the centrality of storytelling and sound. Its three sections can be flipped around the spiral in any order, reflecting this nonlinear theme.
The core of Catnosat features the pavilion's artists, Pauliina Feodoroff, Máret Ánne Sara and Anders Sunna. The second section compiles a play, poems and stories expressing Sámi political and philosophical perspectives. A third section includes a dialogue with the artists; an essay highlighting Sámi knowledge creation across the ages; and a Sámi glossary.