Pieʹss – dens and sounds

Tero Harju, Tuuli Malla

Narrators:

Veikko and Feela Feodoroff

Janica and Elsanja Gauriloff

Tero and Kiu’rrel Harju

Anna, Anton and Elsa Lumikivi

Matti and Erja Taskinen

Pieʹss (meaning: nest) is a three-part den installation in Neiden, Keväjärvi and Sevettijärvi. Inside the dens, audio from Keväjärvi and Sevettijärvi can be heard in Skolt Saami and Finnish. Intergenerational dialogues are heard in the audio, through the voices of children and parents of different ages and environmental sounds.

The den at Äʹvv Skolt Saami Museum has been built using materials found and Sevettijärvi and Neiden, such as birch, pine as well as gifted or borrowed materials from yards of neighbours.

Pieʹss is a continuation to Kueʹtt (meaning: nest/den/lavvu) installation which was built for the Oulu Art Museum and Kunsthalle Helsinki 2024-2025. Through the Pieʹss dens, the audio which has toured urban museums returns to where it was recorded, and also visits Neiden.

The work has been supported by the Kone Foundation and the Sámi Parliament in Finland.

Dens can be experiences in summer 2025:

Äʹvv Skolt Saami Museum, Neiden          12.6.–31.8.2025

Keväjärvi playground                                    19.–20.7.2025

Sevettijärvi beach                                           17.–31.8.2025

Art exhibition Vääim ǩiõj – Traces of innermost

“As people, we have wandered in our areas for several thousand years, but the traces we leave in nature and the surroundings are few and indistinct. We carry our ancestors’ traces in our souls, you will see them if you look carefully…”

The aim is to convey the traditional Skolt Saami knowledge about materials and techniques in new ways in workshops and exhibition.

In the past, equipment was created for a purpose, an area of use, whereas today we are more concerned with the shape, colors, expression and message of things. Is it possible to create something that speaks to or gives meaning to modern man while at the same time conveying the past?

Artistic contributors are Venke Tørmænen, Kjellaug Isaksen and Irene Rasmussen, as well as professional supervisor Matleena Fofonoff, who is a master of Skolt Saami craftsmanship. The collaboration is based on a joint artistic practice within ǩiõtt-tuâjj/duodji and visual arts.

The group have worked together and separately with the various materials (themes): bark, roots and fish. Traditional Skolt Saami knowledge forms the basis for experimentation and design. The line from the historical, via processes in the workshops with the traditional materials and techniques where new expressions and visual art are created, will be visible in the exhibition.

The Skolt Sámi have built their strength and pride in the wisdom that has been passed down from one generation to the next. The traditional knowledge forms new and living stories as it lives on.