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Guests to the renowned gallery are accustomed to surprising encounters in its spacious Turbine Hall. They have sunbathed under an simulated sun, descended down spiral slides, and observed automated sea creatures drifting through the air. Yet this marks the initial time they will be engaging themselves in the complex nose chambers of a reindeer. The latest artistic project for this huge space—developed by Indigenous Sámi artist Máret Ánne Sara—welcomes gallerygoers into a winding construction inspired by the enlarged interior of a reindeer's nasal airways. Once inside, they can stroll around or unwind on pelts, listening on headphones to community leaders sharing tales and wisdom.

Why the Nose?

Why choose the nasal structure? It could seem whimsical, but the artwork honors a rarely recognized biological feat: experts have discovered that in less than one second, the reindeer's nose can raise the temperature of the ambient air it inhales by 80 degrees celsius, allowing the animal to survive in inhospitable Arctic climates. Expanding the nose to bigger than a person, Sara says, "produces a perception of insignificance that you as a individual are not superior over nature." Sara is a former reporter, young adult author, and land defender, who is from a pastoral family in the far north of Norway. "Possibly that generates the chance to shift your outlook or spark some humbleness," she adds.

An Homage to Sámi Culture

The labyrinthine structure is among various features in Sara's engaging exhibition showcasing the traditions, science, and worldview of the Sámi, the sole native group in Europe. Traditionally mobile, the Sámi count about 100,000 people distributed across the Norwegian north, the Finnish Arctic, Sweden, and the Russian Arctic (an territory they call Sápmi). They have experienced discrimination, forced assimilation, and repression of their dialect by all four nations. Through highlighting the reindeer, an animal at the center of the Sámi belief system and founding narrative, the installation also spotlights the group's issues associated with the climate crisis, loss of territory, and colonialism.

Metaphor in Elements

Along the long entry ramp, there's a soaring, 26-metre sculpture of pelts trapped by utility lines. It represents a symbol for the societal frameworks restricting the Sámi. Partly a utility pole, part celestial ladder, this section of the artwork, called Goavve-, refers to the Sámi term for an harsh environmental condition, in which solid coatings of ice appear as varying temperatures melt and ice over the snow, trapping the reindeers' main winter nourishment, lichen. Goavvi is a consequence of climate change, which is occurring up to at an accelerated rate in the Arctic than in other regions.

Three years ago, I met with Sara in a remote town during a icy season and joined Sámi herders on their snowmobiles in chilly conditions as they carried carts of supplementary feed on to the exposed Arctic plains to dispense manually. These animals surrounded round us, pawing the icy ground in vain attempts for vegetative pieces. This costly and demanding procedure is having a severe effect on reindeer husbandry—and on the animals' natural survival. But the choice is malnutrition. As these icy periods become routine, reindeer are succumbing—some from lack of food, others submerging after plunging into streams through unstable frozen surfaces. On one level, the installation is a tribute to them. "With the layering of components, in a way I'm transporting the condition to London," says Sara.

Contrasting Perspectives

The sculpture also underscores the stark difference between the western interpretation of power as a commodity to be utilized for economic benefit and livelihood and the Sámi philosophy of life force as an inherent power in creatures, individuals, and the environment. This venue's past as a fossil fuel plant is tied up in this, as is what the Sámi view as eco-imperialism by regional governments. While attempting to be exemplars for sustainable power, Scandinavian countries have clashed with the Sámi over the building of turbine fields, hydroelectric dams, and digging operations on their native soil; the Sámi assert their human rights, incomes, and culture are at risk. "It's challenging being such a limited population to stand your ground when the justifications are based on environmental protection," Sara notes. "Resource exploitation has appropriated the language of ecology, but still it's just striving to find more suitable ways to maintain habits of consumption."

Family Struggles

She and her family have themselves disagreed with the state authorities over its ever-stricter rules on animal husbandry. A few years ago, Sara's sibling initiated a set of unsuccessful court actions over the mandatory slaughter of his livestock, supposedly to stop overgrazing. As a show of solidarity, Sara developed a multi-year series of creations titled Pile O'Sápmi featuring a colossal drape of four hundred animal bones, which was shown at the 2017 show Documenta 14 and later purchased by the National Museum of Oslo, where it resides in the entrance.

Creative Expression as Awareness

For many Sámi, art appears the only sphere in which they can be listened to by the global community. Recently, Sara was {one of three|among a group of|