Suoidnekaboom

In Suoidnekaboom, reindeer stomachs and senna grass meet with performing arts and living bodies. The work explores the physical materials in relation to materials’ inherent potential, cultural use and context.

Following an invitation to create new works for Dáiddadállu’s 10th anniversary, Maret Anne Sara has invited stage artists Anitta Katriina Suikkari and Anja Saiva Bongo Bjørnstad, Alexandra Wingate and Li Taiga to interact and interpret some of the physical materials and works Sara has worked with recent years, with a particular thematic context for Pile o´Sápmi and the series of works for the Venice Biennale in 2022. Suoidnekaboom is a work where individual artistry and different artistic branches, experiences and expertise, meet in free space. The group has worked closely for over 2 years, both in physical workshops and conversations, to understand what the visual art and materials mean in relation to the performing arts and for us in a collective sense.

From this, a performance art piece has emerged that examines existential durability under pressure. How does prolonged pressure affect the complex inner landscape, in relation to oneself and others? How does the inner life live in sync or out of sync with the external life, and what does this do to people, relationships and society? The work focuses on important discussions related to the work with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the wake of the harsh pre-Norwegian treatment of the Sámi, and the ongoing mechanisms of this which are still strongly felt in Sápmi today. Where small societies are often based on dependency relationships in both material and immaterial contexts, at the same time that immaterial values and relationships are put in competition with individual material survival.

Suoidnekaboom was commissioned for Dáiddadállu 10 anniversary in 2024.

Visual art and artistic direction by Maret Anne Sara. Movement and voice material by Anja Saiva Bongo Bjørnstad, Ánna-Kátri Helander, Anitta Katriina Suikkari, Li Taiga and Alexandra Wingate. Original cast is Anja Saiva Bongo Bjørnstad, Anitta Katriina Suikkari and Li Taiga. Performing in Nuuk was Ina Dokmo and Ululinannguaq Olsen. Choreography by Alexandra Wingate. Assistant Visual Arts by Li Taiga. Production by Alexandra Wingate. Co-production by Dáiddadállu.

With support from Dáiddafoanda, Arts and Culture Norway and Davvi – Center for Performing Art. Thanks to Beaivváš Sámi Nášunalteater and Ole Tomas Nilut, Jan Cato Nilut and Olav Johan Eira for technical support.