Britta Marakatt-Labba – Stitched Tracks

Kunsthalle Mainz stages the first ever solo exhibition of works by Britta Marakatt-Labba in a German-speaking country. The show will focus on her textile pieces, around sixty of which will be on display.
As an activist, Britta Marakatt-Labba (born in Sápmi in 1951) was involved in key historic events for the Sámi, and she still advocates for their rights. Throughout that period she has artistically active, indeed since participating in documenta 14 she has been one of the most well-known Scandinavian artists. Her renown extends both to her work as a solo artist and to her membership of the Máze Group collective. The group was dedicated to promoting research, communication and self-determination of the Sámi identity. Not only did this alliance of artistic and political activists achieve greater awareness for and acceptance of the Sámi in Nordic countries, it also succeeded in setting up the Sámi Artists’ Union (SDS).

Sápmi – the land of the Sámi – extends across northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. This movement and the intense mutual relationship between people, animals and the natural world are key themes in Marakatt-Labba’s oeuvre. Britta Marakatt-Labba found international recognition through her narrative, figurative textile pieces. Over the past fifty years she has transposed her surroundings, experiences and observations into pictorial form, creating numerous delicate motifs that are meticulously embroidered onto the background fabric. They tell stories of Sámi cosmology, of the ways in which their lives have been transformed, and in particular of the world all around them.

Her embroidered tales focus on the threat posed to nature by extractivism and ecological destruction, on current practices regarding natural resources which are driving out the Sámi Indigenous people, and on turmoil in the landscape at the local and global levels. Depicting visual narratives on cloth is Britta Marakatt-Labba’s technique for asking questions and finding answers to existential thoughts. Her delicate settings are created in a manner that is fascinating, precise and intricate. What makes her work so unique is the accurate positioning of the scenes, the interaction between the background and the main subject matter, and the tension between empty space and the goings on in the picture. Her pieces evince a phenomenal feeling for visual space, for the storyline and for silence. Thousands of stitches come together to form landscapes and narratives about a fragile world and its inhabitants.

The exhibition was curated by Stefanie Böttcher and Marlène Harles.

The exhibition architecture was developed by Kooperative für Darstellungspolitik.

This exhibition has been made possible through the kind support of Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz, the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and the Embassy of Sweden.

Booklet accompanying the exhibition (PDF)

Audioguide