Sami pattern in new entrance to Nordiska Museet

On July 1st, Nordiska Museet, located on the lush island of Djurgården in Stockholm, opens a new entrance from the previously closed backyard. With her artwork “Two Directions”, the Finnish Sami artist Outi Pieski created the artistic design, inspired by objects in the museum’s Sami collections. Featuring an important part of the Nordic and Sami cultural heritage, “Two Directions" now bear a permanent imprint in the building of the museum.

The extension at the new entrance, designed by architect Lone-Pia Bach — as well as the permanent artwork Two Directions by Outi Pieski — were commissioned by Nordiska Museet in concert with the Public Art Agency Sweden (Statens Konstråd). The work — consisting of several parts in and around the newly constructed west entrance — is integrated with the building. Two of the parts are located along the protruding glass section of the entrance building, as well as on demarcating fences, consisting of patterns made of weathering steel. These patterns playfully interweave light and shadow, alternating at different hours of the day, as well as with the seasons. The name of the artwork in Southern Saami is Guektien bïegkese, in Northern Saami Guovtte biggii.

“The old Sami decorative tradition is a language in which each element is a word. Together, they create an ornate history of Sami philosophy, cosmology and life. The artwork reflects the museum’s collections, which include objects from several different Sami regions. The decoration of the walls derives inspiration from South Sámi decorative bands, where the diagonal structure is an expression of flexibility and community, while the vertical/horizontal structure stands for steadiness and stability,” says Outi Pieski.

A decorated spoon of elk antler in the museum’s collections served as the pattern for the work of Finnish Sami artist Outi Pieski. In Sami culture, the spoon is a personal object. The signs, patterns and carvings on the spoon bear cultural identity and heritage, as well as magic and mythology.

“The work Two Directions is a conscious contemporary addition to our iconic building, richly decorated with sculptures and reliefs, depicting Nordic history and mythology. To us, it is important to update the museum's building in a considerate, contemporary and respectful way. Outi Pieski’s work reveals, and adds dimensions and attitudes, to the Nordic cultural heritage,” says Sanne Houby-Nielsen, Director of Nordiska Museet.

“In this work, Outi Pieski combines, in a profoundly personal and poetic manner, her experience and knowledge of the Sami culture and craft tradition, producing a contemporary monumental artwork,” says Peter Hagdahl, curator at the Public Art Agency Sweden.

The new entrance is located at the ground level of the building, and serves as an important part of a long-term effort to improve accessibility. By creating a new way into the museum, spaces previously closed were opened, providing learning experiences. Further into the entrance, designed by the architect Lone-Pia Bach, a newly acquired video work — Birds in the Earth, by the Finnish  Sami artist Marja Helander — is on show.

Facts about Outi Pieski

The artist Outi Pieski (born 1973) lives in Ohcejohka/Utsjoki and Numminen in Finland. She mainly works with visual art and installations. Outi Pieski studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, graduating in 2000. Her art often proceeds from subjects related to Sami culture, as well as the Nordic landscape in the far north. Central motifs in her art are the history and future of the Sami, the rights of indigenous peoples, the relationship to nature, and sustainable development. Oftenly she uses elements from nature, in concert with textile components and patterns recognisable from Sami objects.

Outi Pieski has participated in a large number of group exhibitions and has received several awards, in addition to displaying solo exhibitions in Karasjok, London, Helsinki and Luleå, amongst other places. In 2017, she received a prize from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, resulting in the exhibition Čuolmmadit at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, also on show at the Oulu Museum of Art. In addition, she has participated on an exhibition in Finland’s national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale in 2019.

Nordiska Museet tells about how people in the Nordic countries have lived, eaten, dressed and celebrated their traditions from the sixteenth century onwards. The exhibitions display home furnishings, fashion and jewellery, glassware, porcelain and other things which people surround themselves with in everyday life as well as on festive occasions. The museum building on the royal island of Djurgården is an experience unto itself.

The Public Art Agency Sweden produces permanent and temporary art projects in public spaces, and engages artists in urban development projects, while spreading knowledge and experience in Sweden as well as abroad.

People to contact:

Vanessa Gandy, Head of Museum Experience at Nordiska Museet
e-mail: vanessa.gandy@nordiskamuseet.se, mobile: 0708-77 16 03

Peter Hagdahl, curator at the Public Art Agency Sweden
e-mail: peter.hagdahl@nordiskamuseet.se, mobile: 070-780 06 06