It’s as if a full moon has fallen into the basement of Studio Mustanapa. The black and white video work Mánnu (Moon) projected onto a round screen depicts the moon taking over its viewer. On dark nights, you can imagine the stállu, malevolent creatures known in the Sámi mythology, walking in the northern forests or in the depths of one’s own mind. The lyrics of the yoik by the sámi musician Ánnámáret (Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman) simply translate as: “The moon – I surrender”. In addition to the yoik there are Ilkka Heinonen’s jouhikko with its rough and cutting voice and Turkka Inkilä’s electronically produced soundscape. Both visually and audially the work travels within the imagined and real landscapes of Sápmi, seen from the perspective of both a human and a bird.
Mánnu is part of a continuum of collaboration between media artist Marja Viitahuhta and musicians Ánnámáret, Heinonen and Inkilä. The collaboration of the working group has been seen and heard on the one hand as live concerts (eg Flow festival, Kiasma theater, Sajos) and on the other in the form of video works both at film festivals (Helsinki Film Festival, Novy Horizonty, Fredrikstad Animation Festival) and in exhibition spaces (Poriginal gallery, Titanik, Galleria Huuto). The video works Jearrat máttaráhkus, Dolat and Dološ niegut can also be seen in Yle Areena, and the work Nieguid Duovdagat is part of the online collection of the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art.
The cooperation of the working group is about the meeting of music and the visual world and the dialogue between these different elements. At the core of the work is Ánnámáret’s yoik, her invitation to collaborate together and the content of each of her yoiks; the world and subject they reveal. Our work is cross-cultural, it is Sámi-Finnish experimental cooperation, the main features of which are the aspects of reciprocity and listening, trust, independent action and experimentation. On the one hand, we each work independently, alone, and on the other hand, in common practice sessions where we play and practice together. Three of us live in Helsinki, one in Nuorgam, so a large part of our activities is also based on remote connections.
Our artistic practice and videoworks have been supported in recent years and during the current year by: Art Promotion Centre Finland, Kone foundation, Avek, Alfred Kordelin foundation, Sámi education institute, Saami council and Saami parliament of Finland.
Mánnu, photo credits Marja Viitahuhta
The exhibition starts on the first of July at 12am. There’s artists’ meeting at 3pm. The opening is from 4pm to 6pm. Ánnámáret attends the opening and artist will perform by yoik.
Artists’ contact information:
Marja Viitahuhta
marjamikko@hotmail.com
instagram: @viitahuhta
web: https://www.av-arkki.fi/fi/artists/marja-viitahuhta/
Ánnámáret
anna@annamaret.fi
instagram @annamaret
web: https://www.annamaret.fi/
More information: https://www.lapintaiteilijaseura.fi/en/events/marja-viitahuhta-annamaret/