This is the virtual exhibition of the LiLa spring school from spring 2021.
University of Arctic’s thematic network Arctic Sustainable Art and Design arranges annually a Living in the Landscape course that brings together researchers, lecturers and MA and PhD students from different disciplines to learn from each other in the art-based study of Arctic environments, communities and landscapes.
The participants of the school come from the Nord University of Norway, Nesna / University of Lapland, Rovaniemi / Syktyvkar State University Komi Republic of Russia. The school was funded by the Institute of Higher Education Norway/UiT.
PROLOGUE
The prolog exhibits a summary of the first summer school Living in the Komi Landscape. The school took place in the villages of the Komi Republic of Russia in late May 2018. The partners of the school were the University of Lapland, The Syktyvkar State University, the Arctic University of Norway, Uppsala University’s Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the National Library of the Komi Republic.
LILA 2021: THE ART-BASED RESULTS
Due to Covid-19 the Lila 2021 was realized as a hybrid model where studying and communication took place virtually, but the art-based investigations on landscape materialized in the locations where the participators of Lila were living. In his writings the Anthropologist Tim Ingold has introduced the term taskscape to explain how landscapes are created through the activities of those living there. It signifies processes of time and temporality in many ways. The exhibition shows a variety of art-based reflections on taskscapes and temporality of the northern landscapes.
Living in the Arctic Landscape
Gary Hoffman
Produced, directed and edited by Gary Hoffman
Music composed by Gary Hoffman
Photographic contributions by Virva Kanerva, Sandra Bencomo, Maikki Salmivaara, Elina Härkönen, Antti Stöckell, Mirja Hiltunen, Timo Jokela, Anne Mette Bjørnvik Rosø, Wenche Sørmo, Karin Stoll, Mette Gårdvik and Gary Hoffman
2021
In order to fully appreciate the music, please listen with the highest quality speakers or headphones available.
The short film, Living in the Arctic Landscape, is a collaborative project by both the students and teachers participating in the multinational course, Living in the Landscape 2020. The course was financed with support from the University of the Arctic. Participating institutions include the University of Lapland- Rovaniemi, Finland, Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University – Komi District, Russia and Nord University- Nesna, Norway. The work was inspired by Tim Ingold’s essay, The Temporality of the Landscape (2002), where he postulates that the people (dwellers) living and working in an area (taskscape) are inextricably bound to the natural landscape in which they live, thus forming the true, temporal landscape. The photograph submissions were edited together with additional video footage in Final Cut Pro to create the visual film. The film was then used as creative inspiration for the composing of the soundtrack.
Birds
Svetlana Litvintceva, Yulia Vakushkina & Victoria Lihacheva
Video
Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia
2021
We are students of the northern city of the Komi Republic Syktyvkar – Svetlana, Yulia and Victoria. Our project is about paper recycling. It was not the paper recycling process itself that was important to us, but communication and spending time together. Old books, magazines, paper – an affordable material that does not require expensive investments.
At first, we went and were inspired by the nature of Komi, its places and sounds, and its culture. Northern nature is really a real aesthetic, it is minimalistic, and there is a great value in this minimal amount of things in nature. The North is a state of mind, and when we are alone with nature, we rest our minds.
The process of making paper has become real night magic for us: Delicious smells, sounds, tactile sensations – all this we were able to feel at our meetings.
From the received materials, we decided to create a postcard “Birds”, then send them to the participants of the spring school. Birds live anywhere on the planet, and their singing is inspiring. They connect our territories.
The paper turned out to be very fragile, it was torn. Our world is just as easy to destroy, it must be protected.
In the video, we showed the process of getting the paper, the beautiful views and the atmosphere of our north.
Dolls
Irina Zemtzova
15 different sized dolls
Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia
2021
01/06
Dostoyevsky once wrote that pain and suffering sharpen a great mind. Well, my mind, more lazy than great, has been sharpened during the pandemic while forced to lie on my back for seven days with acute pain. As you know, I am not the type who can lie idle for very long. Even stuck in my bed for several days I felt I had to find some productive outlet. In my interest and research with traditional doll making, I discovered that I could make a simple, miniature doll without any other tools than my hands and some fabric. The result was a whole collection of 60 individual dolls and proof of Dostoevsky’s postulate.
SEEKING COMMUNITY PROCESSES IN ONLINE SETTINGS
Meeting in Landscape
Lidia Kostareva, Lotta Lundstedt & Elina Härkönen
Video
Podtybok, Russia / Miekojärvi, Finland / Röksta, Sweden
2021
The current video piece is a continuation of meetings between three dyers from Sweden, Russia and Finland. We met first time in Komi, Russia 2019 and started sharing our passion for plant dyes. Since then, we have been able to meet only online but have been able to collaborate through artistic working. Meeting in material is our first artwork published 2020 where we have examined dyeing as cultural heritage through joining the outcomes of our dyeing processes together. In this second artwork, Meeting in landscape we have concentrated on the poetic rhythm of the dyeing processes by bringing our three landscapes together. Our collaboration is ultimately about sharing and learning from each other’s processes and thoughts about dying and cultures in our neighboring countries.
Dumpling Meeting
Anelia Lyantsevich
Russian group: Lidia Kostareva, Irina Zemtsova, Anelia Lyantsevich & Victoria Likhacheva
Photographs by Anelia Lyantsevich
14 documentary photographs
Syktyvkar, Komi republic, Russia
2021
The series of photographs tell about the meeting that took place in March as part of the Lila project. The Russian group shared the most common Russian tradition – the making of dumplings. This tradition involves not only making food but also socializing during the process and having a meal together. These everyday things allow us to immerse ourselves in culture through familiar activities. Joint activities strengthen friendships and it doesn’t matter that we can’t necessarily meet in person.
The online version of the school reached collaboration, sharing of different landscapes on a completely different level. This way we could “visit” everyone’s places through virtual tea times, storytelling and music, simultaneous landscape experiments, knitting nights, dumpling bakings and many more. Although we all hoped for real visits to each other’s places, this way the ground was established for networking, sharing of meaningful aspects in interdisciplinary art-based working and perceptions of taskscapes in different landscapes. This is one example of the Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design Network’s many ways of bringing the people on the circumpolar region together to investigate, develop and learn from one another.