LA FJELLA LEVE!
(Let the Mountains live), #1
2019
Listen to this sound while you learn more about this project:)
Photo by Julius Töyrylä
This project was shown as two parts at the same time, one at the Nordic Light Festival of Photography with Uncertain States Scandinavia, and one at the KiT (Trondheim Academy of Fine Art - NTNU) MA graduation show 'Bridges are Burning' at TKM Gråmølna.
Photo by Julius Töyrylä
At Nordic Light 2019 Uncertain States Scandinavina published a dedicated paper for the festival and presented the featured artist in exhibitions (including a pop-up shipping container gallery) and artist talks/lectures, and I got to be one of them with 'LA FJELLA LEVE!'.
And here's a link to the USS online newspaper (also please have little browse in the other issues, they're awesome)
'LA FJELLA LEVE!' Is an investigation into the uneven powerbalance between the ongoing development of wind-energy in Trøndelag and the Southsámi reindeer-herders. Critiquing the dirty money-game that results in violating human rights and destroying indigenous land and culture in Norway.
The photos are documenting the mountains as they change during the construction of the wind- parks, and are paired with powerful and heartbreaking quotes from interviews and conversations with the Southsámi reindeer-herders.
After learning more and more about the Storheia case, it surprises me how often the arguments made by Statkraft and the government when in conflict with the Sámi people, are so illogical it borders on comedy. There is for instance a distinct irony in the claim that the mountain is perfectly safe for reindeer, whilst at the same time off limits for the members of the public due to rocketing ice-shards traveling at high speed thrown from the windmill-blades. Deadly. I