Àbadakone and National Gallery of Canada
On thursday november 7th the exhibition Àbadakone, or Continuous Fire, opens at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It is a big international exhibition with over 70 indigenous artists from 16 different countries from all over the world. I was of course honored to be asked to participate in this big exhibition.
The object they wanted me to bring to Àbadakone was the most sacred object we Saami have, a shamans drum. The Saami drum is something I have been working with and researched for over 15 years so this was not surprising. Already back in 2001 when I made my first drum I decided that I will not sell them to any other than Saami. It is our sacred drum and our spiritual heritage that only we can own and keep. For this exhibiton I made an exception because I will be among my indigenous brothers and sisters so it felt right.
The drum is the way I see it a spiritual tool not a work of art. That does not however mean that it cant be beautiful and decorated. This is especially true for the drum I made for Àbadakone wich is one of the objects I have spent the most time and effort making, so it could very well be seen as art as well. The amount of time invested is hard to explain since it is a process over a very long time. Before I can even begin to work I have to find the right material in the forest, wich in this case took several days. And this is just for finding the pine tree with the burl wich will become the body of the drum. Not just any tree will be good for this, it has to be a special tree.
I guess this long process is what comes to mind when thinking about indigenous art, that it is made with great care and is beautiful, skillfully done, and firmly grounded in tradition. My experience of modern art of today is that there is an effort to make it free and detached from any tradition or hard earned skill of the hands. For me it feels half done and uninteresting. The truth is that no matter how hard one might try, nobody exists in a cultural vacuum. That is why I look forward to Àbadakone so much where so many skilled artists from many different indigenous cultures gather. Art that is firmly rooted in a living tradition and the skill of the hands.
