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Attendees to the renowned gallery are used to unusual encounters in its vast Turbine Hall. They have relaxed under an man-made sun, descended down helter skelters, and seen AI-powered sea creatures hovering through the air. Yet this marks the inaugural time they will be immersing themselves in the detailed nasal cavities of a reindeer. The current creative installation for this immense space—designed by Native Sámi creator Máret Ánne Sara—invites gallerygoers into a winding construction modeled after the enlarged inside of a reindeer's nasal cavities. Once inside, they can meander around or relax on pelts, tuning in on headphones to community leaders imparting narratives and insights.

Focus on the Nasal Passages

Why the nose? It may appear playful, but the artwork celebrates a little-known natural marvel: experts have uncovered that in less than one second, the reindeer's nose can warm the ambient air it takes in by 80 degrees celsius, helping the animal to survive in harsh Arctic conditions. Enlarging the nose to larger than human size, Sara explains, "creates a perception of smallness that you as a person are not superior over nature." The artist is a ex- writer, writer for kids, and environmental activist, who comes from a herding family in the Norwegian Arctic. "Possibly that creates the possibility to alter your perspective or trigger some humility," she adds.

A Tribute to Sámi Culture

The labyrinthine design is part of a components in Sara's engaging exhibition celebrating the traditions, science, and philosophy of the Sámi, the sole native group in Europe. Traditionally mobile, the Sámi total about 100,000 people spread across the Norwegian north, Finland, Sweden, and the Kola region (an area they call Sápmi). They have faced discrimination, forced assimilation, and eradication of their tongue by all four nations. Through highlighting the reindeer, an creature at the core of the Sámi mythology and creation story, the installation also spotlights the community's struggles associated with the global warming, loss of territory, and imperialism.

Symbolism in Materials

At the extended entrance incline, there's a looming, eighty-five-foot structure of skins entangled by power and light cables. It can be read as a metaphor for the societal frameworks constraining the Sámi. Partly a utility pole, part heavenly staircase, this part of the installation, called Goavve-, relates to the Sámi word for an harsh environmental condition, whereby solid coatings of ice appear as varying weather thaw and solidify again the snow, locking in the reindeers' primary cold-season nourishment, moss. This phenomenon is a consequence of planetary warming, which is happening up to four times faster in the Far North than in other regions.

Previously, I visited Sara in the Norwegian far north during a severe cold period and accompanied Sámi pastoralists on their Arctic vehicles in biting cold as they carried carts of food pellets on to the barren frozen landscape to provide manually. The reindeer gathered round us, pawing the icy ground in vain attempts for vegetative morsels. This expensive and laborious process is having a significant influence on herding practices—and on the animals' self-sufficiency. Yet the alternative is starvation. As these icy periods become frequent, reindeer are dying—a number from hunger, others suffocating after falling into lakes and rivers through prematurely melting ice. To some extent, the art is a monument to them. "By overlapping of components, in a way I'm transporting the goavvi to London," says Sara.

Contrasting Belief Systems

The installation also underscores the stark difference between the industrial understanding of power as a resource to be exploited for gain and survival and the Sámi philosophy of life force as an natural power in animals, humans, and land. The gallery's legacy as a fossil fuel plant is linked with this, as is what the Sámi see as eco-imperialism by Scandinavian states. As they strive to be standard bearers for renewable energy, Nordic nations have locked horns with the Sámi over the building of windfarms, river barriers, and digging operations on their traditional territory; the Sámi argue their legal protections, incomes, and traditions are at risk. "It's hard being such a small minority to protect your rights when the reasons are rooted in environmental protection," Sara observes. "Extractivism has adopted the language of sustainability, but still it's just striving to find better ways to continue patterns of consumption."

Family Challenges

The artist and her relatives have themselves clashed with the national administration over its ever-stricter rules on reindeer management. Previously, Sara's brother embarked on a sequence of unsuccessful lawsuits over the mandatory slaughter of his herd, apparently to stop vegetation depletion. To back him, Sara created a four-year collection of pieces named Pile O'Sápmi featuring a colossal screen of 400 cranial remains, which was exhibited at the 2017's event Documenta 14 and later acquired by the national institution, where it is displayed in the lobby.

Creative Expression as Awareness

For many Sámi, art is the exclusive domain in which they can be listened to by outsiders. Two years ago, Sara was {one of three|among a group of|