Guržot ja guovssat / Spell on you!

2020
Thread; steel; wood  

Guržot ja guovssat / Spell on you! is a three-dimensional painting dealing with contradictory forces in Sámi societies. Guoržžu means a bad-luck-bird or an evil spirit and Guovssa is a Siberian jay, known to bring good luck. Based on the Sámi revitalisation movement, this artwork presents an empowering situation born out of Duodji traditions. Duodji is a holistic concept that preserves the Sámi philosophy, values and spirituality, and connects them with practical and traditional skills. Duodji is doing and making, crafting and creating. Despite colonialism’s efforts to invalidate Duodji traditions, it remains powerful and vital today.    

Guržot ja guovssat / Spell on you!  is made by several woman from across Sápmi in Finland, Norway and Sweden: Outi Pieski, Máret Johanna Huuva, Jenni Laiti, Ulla Magga, Leena Karoliina Mattanen, Laura Annika Pieski, Sunnamaarit Sara-Tornensis, Biret Haarla Pieski, Gáddjá Haarla Pieski, Eeva-Kristiina Nylander, Kaarin Wes  

Supported by: Frame Finland; Culture fund for Sweden and Finland 

Outi Pieski works with paintings and installations that delve into the Arctic region and the interdependence of nature and culture. Her work combines craft traditions as somatic and familial vocabularies called duodji to reopen conversations about the Sámi people within transnational discourses.   

Pieski has recently exhibited at: Martin Gropius Bau; Bonniers Konsthall; 23rd Sydney Biennial; 1st Helsinki Biennial; 13th Gwangju Biennial; Finnish Pavilion in the 58th Venice Biennale; EMMA Museum; Kiasma; and the Southbank Centre   

Göteborgs Konsthall