Tomas Colbengtson
Eatnamen vaarjelæjja / Land Protector
Market Art Fair
29.4 - 1.5. 2022
Liljevalchs Konsthall, booth 18
Tomas Colbengtson is one of Sápmi’s leading artists. He was born in 1957 and grew up in a small Sami village, Björkvattnet, Tärnaby, the northernmost area for the South Sami language.
Tomas grew up fighting for his language, right to religion, and self-determination. He uses his Sami background and nature experiences from the northern Swedish mountains as a starting point for his artistic work.
In his activist work, he initiates the indigenous residence Sápmi Salasta for indigenous artists. He works with graphics, painting, sculpture, and digital art. He currently teaches at Konstfack, Stockholm, where he completed his education in 1991.
Tomas has had several international exhibitions in the USA, Russia, Japan, Germany, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece.
When talking about Sapmi, there is a general spread of knowledge about the geographical area. But there is no official sign that tells you when you enter it. So Tomas created “Land protector”, a real, local sign, a physical object to show that Sapmi exists.
The sign's word "Sápmie" is a mixture of Northern and Southern Sami languages.
A few weeks ago Colbengtson took "Land Protector" to various places in Stockholm that serve as symbols of power. He placed the object in front of the Parliament House, The Royal Palace, a church and Stureplan and finally, outside the entrance to Liljevalchs Konsthall.
Land Protector
Land Protector, 2022, Object, 198 x 124 x 20 cm
The Sami shaman used his drum to make contact with the spiritual world.
During the Reformation in the 1600s, the church banned the Sami from owning and using a Sami drum. Colbengtson has, in cast glass, recreated a drum that was collected in 1723.
Repartierad Gievrie
- Through the artwork, the image of the Sami religion - the drum - and Christian symbols meet on equal and democratic terms, says Tomas Colbengtson. My work is a response to the apology that the Church of Sweden has now expressed to us Sami. It's time for us to reach out to each other.
The sun in the center of Colbengtsons drum is the same as on the three-hundred-year-old drum. Other figures come from his own world of images. Each one carries stories from the Sami people.
The Church of Sweden, which seized the drums, came to, paradoxically, help preserve the Sami cultural heritage. Drums and other tradition-bearing objects were not set on fire but were used as merchandise or international gifts and many are now found in museums.
Repartierad Gievrie, 2021/2022, Object (glass, steel, reindeer skin, brass rings)
About Galleri Helle Knudsen
Galleri Helle Knudsen shows contemporary art focusing on painting and original graphics. The gallery collaborates with mainly established artists but is also committed to highlighting young emerging artists, continuously showing debut exhibitions, and issuing at least three art scholarships a year in collaboration with the gallery's art association.
Galleri Helle Knudsen
Hantverkargatan 18-20, Stockholm
March-September: Solo exhibition in the Museum Cerny, Bern Switzerland
March-June: ”Arctic Highway”, House of Sweden, Washington D.C.
May-June: Gallery Napa and Studio Mustanapa, Rovaniemi, Finland
June-September: Idre kyrka, Dalarna, Sweden
June-August: Solo exhibition in Saemie Sijte, Snåsa, Norway
September-November: Yukon Arts Centre, Canada
September-November: Solo exhibition, SDG, Karasjok, Norway
October-February 2023: Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Spain
December-March 2023: Solo exhibition, National Nordic museum Seattle U.S
Other upcoming exhibitions in 2022