Anders Sunna: Vuoiggalašvuohtta Vuovddis (Justice in the Forest)
Larkin Durey is delighted to present an exhibition of new work by Anders Sunna, the artist’s second solo show with the gallery.
Sunna’s work bears witness to the history of the Sámi and the continuing persecution of his family by the Swedish state. The colonisation of Sápmi, the Sámi homeland, began in the 1700s seeking to systematically erase Sámi culture via land theft, Christianisation and the suppression of Sámi languages and traditions. The 1971 Reindeer Act, which forced the Sámi to herd reindeer for Swedish property owners without compensation was challenged by the Sunna family, sparking their battle with the authorities, an ordeal that has devastated their livelihood and cast them as outlaws to this day. Sámi lands are also increasingly at risk from mining, wind farms, hydroelectric dams and military activities, all of which disturb the reindeer herds migratory paths, natural ecosystems and the Sámi’s spiritual relationship to the land.
Sunna’s practice has become the principal voice of his family’s resistance and as such, a new target for state scrutiny and smearing. His paintings capture a fractured, volatile reality, layering materials and imagery until the surfaces speak of multiple trauma, some buried, some violently present. The Sápmi landscape is cast as both casualty and court; scarred by capitalist systems of power while exposing their crimes for all to see. Ringed by traditional Sámi motifs and portraits of resistance including Sunna, his wife and a relative whose body was used in Swedish eugenics experiments, these works subvert the traditions of Nordic landscape painting with its vistas of pristine, unpopulated wilderness, reclaiming an indigenous narrative that is rooted in the land, at odds with the colonial drive to dominate.
Anders Sunna was born in Kieksiäisvaara, Sápmi in 1985. He lives and works in Jokkmokk, Sápmi, Sweden. Sunna was one of three artists included in The Sámi Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2022.The resulting work Illegal Spirits of Sápmi was subsequently acquired for the Moderna Museet, Stockholm’s permanent collection. His work is also included in the collections of the Världskultur Museet, Gothenburg, the National Museum, Oslo, Västerås Konsthall and the Sámi Art Collection, RiddoDuottarMuseat, Karasjok. Solo shows have been held at Nitja Senter for Samtidskunst, Lillestrøm, Norway (2024) and Kulturens hus, Luleå, Sweden (2025).
