Catnosat: Indigenous Art, Knowledge and Sovereignty

This exercise in Samification highlights Sami Indigenous knowledge across all fields of art and life

In 2022, Sami artists present their art and worldview at the Venice Biennale for the first time, representing Sapmi (the Sami homeland that spans Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula). The Sami pavilion revolves around three key elements: transgenerational relations; holistic Sami knowledge and learning; and Sami spiritual perspectives. This slipcased spiralbound volume serves as a project in its own right, considering Sami notions of nonlinear time and the centrality of storytelling and sound. Its three sections can be flipped around the spiral in any order, reflecting this nonlinear theme. The core of Catnosat features the pavilion’s artists, Pauliina Feodoroff, Maret Anne Sara and Anders Sunna. The second section compiles a play, poems and stories expressing Sami political and philosophical perspectives. A third section includes a dialogue with the artists; an essay highlighting Sami knowledge creation across the ages; and a Sami glossary.