INSTALLATIONS
Sápmi
Walking several hundred miles across Arctic Sápmi (Sámi lands), I continue my exploration of What is My Culture?, researching the unique Sámi relationship with the natural environment and how it is reflected in art and living. Back in the Highlands, the challenges facing the Sámi in the face of a dominant culture of natural resource exploitation seem universal. The work questions the choices we make, which human and non-human 'Cultures' we value, exploit, or simply overlook.
Inspired by a coast-to-coast walk, this work wrestles with Scotland’s cultural myths. Across large areas the stag, Scotland’s icon of wildness, roams a landscape grazed bare of vegetation while miles of fencing are needed to protect trees. Drawing on indigenous art of Finnmark and Scotland tracing 5000 years of coexistence with deer, I reflect on boundaries, fear, identity and control against today’s backdrop of global crisis. What role do boundaries play in safeguarding what we value? Do My Fences Keep Me Safe?
Honours Dissertation
The Matter with Time: In an age of instantaneity What role can art play in engagement with the 'wild'?