Savu E. Korteniemi The Atlas
Exhibition The Atlas belongs to the project The Last Ones, considering the Finnic mythology and a connection between the Land of North and The Land of Death. I seek geography of the invisible, the crossings of mythic and real. Meanings of landscape bury stories on definitions of the valid worldviews and using of power and violence, accomplished by ruling cultures.
The Mount Domen, situated in Northern Norway on the shore of the Arctic Sea (the place is also known as “Ultima Thule”), is notorious for its role on the witch-hunts during 17th century, when Christian court believed that there was a gateway to the Hell via the Mount Domen. These kind of beliefs refers to the primeval myth on the Mountain of the World, situated in The North.
Analogously there is a lake “Pakasaivo” in Muonio municipality in Finnish Lapland; the place is named as “The Hell of Lapland ” even in maps, which refers to the beliefs of double-bottom lakes called “saivo” as pathways to the Underworld. Nevertheless, there is other possibilities to verbalize the meaning of the lake Pakasaivo, as well: for Sámi people a local underwold behind the saivo-lake is rather a paradise.”
Previous parts of The Last Ones project are The First Pictures, Blue Maiden & Maid Anni and an environmental art installation The Bearers of the World I – III which situated in the Kirkkolampi park, Rovaniemi.
An article on encountering of the Beyond and a relationship between Kalevala and an oral epic poem tradition has been published by Northern cultural magazine Kaltio 1/20 (in Finnish).
The exhibition is supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and is a part of The Arctic Desig Week and Arctic Passion- festival.
More of the artist: https://www.korteniemi.eu/english
