Britta Marakatt-Labba: Stitched Tracks

We’re delighted to announce that Kunsthalle Mainz is set to stage the first ever large-scale solo exhibition of works by Britta Marakatt-Labba in a German-speaking country. Since participating in documenta 14 she has been one of the world’s most well-known Sámi artists. The show will focus on her textile pieces from the 1960s through to the present day, around sixty of which will be on display.

Britta Marakatt-Labba (born in 1951 in Sápmi) found international recognition through her narrative, figurative textile pieces. Over the past fifty years she has transposed her surroundings, experiences and observations into pictorial form, creating numerous delicate motifs that are meticulously embroidered onto the background fabric. Using fabric to transport visual narratives is the artist’s method of asking questions and finding answers to existential thoughts. With needle and thread in hand, she talks not just about the Sámi people themselves but also about their history and mythology, and about the natural world which provides a habitat for them and their reindeer. But her delicate embroideries also address the threat to nature posed by the extraction of raw materials and the destruction of ecosystems, resulting in the displacement of Indigenous peoples.

The expressive, concise nature of these pieces allows us to catch glimpses of fragile worlds: the precise placement of the scenes, the interplay between background and motif, and the tension between emptiness and imagery are what make Britta Marakatt-Labba’s works so unique, demonstrating a keen sense of pictorial space, storylines, vastness and tranquillity.

As an activist, Britta Marakatt-Labba has been involved in key historic events for the Sámi such as the Alta conflict, and she still advocates for their rights. Her renown extends both to her work as a solo artist and to her membership of the Máze Group collective, a group dedicated to promoting research, communication and self-determination with respect to the Sámi identity. Not only did this alliance of artistic and political activists achieve greater awareness for and acceptance of the Sámi in Nordic countries, it also succeeded in setting up the Sámi Artists’ Union (SDS). 

Curated by Stefanie Böttcher and Marlène Harles

This exhibition has been made possible through the kind support of the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung, Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and the Embassy of Sweden.