Katarina Pirak Sikku

In her art, Sámi artist Katarina Pirak Sikku combines drawing, photography, painting, installation, and text as a mode of activism and visual storytelling.

Sikku created a new body of work for this exhibition that traces her familial history through mapping and reindeer markings.

Katarina Pirak Sikku (Sápmi, born 1965), Katarina Pirak Sikku vuorkkás: Birága ja Klementssone johtolagat ja máddariid boazomearkkat / From Katarina Pirak Sikku’s archive: Pirak’s and Klementsson’s hiking trails and ancestral reindeer marks, 2021, ink and watercolor on paper, 57 x 76 inches. Courtesy of the artist. © Katarina Pirak Sikku. Photographs by Bild i Norr/Mikael Lundgren

Katarina Pirak Sikku (Sápmi, born 1965), Katarina Pirak Sikku vuorkkás: Birága ja Klementssone johtolagat ja máddariid boazomearkkat / From Katarina Pirak Sikku’s archive: Pirak’s and Klementsson’s hiking trails and ancestral reindeer marks, 2021, ink and watercolor on paper, 11 x 16 inches. Courtesy of the artist. © Katarina Pirak Sikku. Photographs by Bild i Norr/Mikael Lundgren

The map marks the burial sites and the landmarks that all sustain a history, known to some, unknown to most. While growing up, Sikku got to know these places, but she also heard about places that no one was ever allowed to visit, such as important holy sites whose geographical locations were kept secret in order to protect them. If the locations were revealed, they would likely be visited by ethnologists who would dig them up and remove anything of value for a museum. But the better the protection was, the more seldom the sites were mentioned, and the more they were forgotten, even by those who were responsible for guarding them.

Sikku portrays reindeer markings based on her own family marks. Reindeer markings are personal and are often inherited within the family. The unique markings are applied to both ears of the animal, showing the owner. The drawings of the marks on view illustrate subtle differences over time. Collectively, they register as a visual language of record and familial history.

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Guest UserFebruary 11, 20222022 nat artist

Katarina Pirak Sikku

In her art, Sámi artist Katarina Pirak Sikku combines drawing, photography, painting, installation, and text as a mode of activism and visual storytelling.

Sikku created a new body of work for this exhibition that traces her familial history through mapping and reindeer markings.

Explore more artworks from North Atlantic Triennial

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Katarina Pirak Sikku

In her art, Sámi artist Katarina Pirak Sikku combines drawing, photography, painting, installation, and text as a mode of activism and visual storytelling.

Sikku created a new body of work for this exhibition that traces her familial history through mapping and reindeer markings.

Explore more artworks from North Atlantic Triennial

VISITEXHIBITIONSPROGRAMS & EVENTSPMA FILMSJOIN & GIVELearnWINSLOW HOMER STUDIO

Art For AllSustainabilityABOUT THE PMADonate OnlinePRESS ROOMANNUAL REPORTSPMA Recommends

Facility RentalBOARD OF TRUSTEEScareersDIRECTORYIMAGE SERVICESTerms of UseContact US

LOG IN: Staff | Docents | Trustees

VISIT
EXHIBITIONS
PROGRAMS & EVENTS
PMA FILMS
JOIN & GIVE
Learn
WINSLOW HOMER STUDIO

Art For All
Sustainability
ABOUT THE PMA
Donate Online
PRESS ROOM
ANNUAL REPORTS
PMA Recommends

Facility Rental
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
careers
DIRECTORY
IMAGE SERVICES
Terms of Use
Contact US