Unique pictures of Sami children are going to visit Norway and Sweden
'In Time of Photography', a unique photo exhibition dedicated to Sami lower primary school pupils in Övre Soppero in Sweden in 1940-ies, is going to be on display in Tromsø Museum throughout the autumn. Subsequently, the photo exhibition will travel to Sweden and Norway.
The exhibition offers a wide selection of unique pictures from Lannavaara in Övre Soppero. The photos of pupils ' leisure time and daily life were taken by their teacher Rolf Ärnström.
Rolf Ärnström came to work as a teacher in the Sami school in Lannavaara – some kilometres south of Karesuando - in 1942, and stayed in the area for six years. The meeting with a living Sami village in the Scandinavian Shield did impress the young teacher for the rest of his days. The life there was so different and exotic that later on he compared it to a trip to Mars. His curiosity was aroused. Similarly to the numerous leading documentary photographers of the time he used his newly acquired mini-camera to explore and fortify his encounters with the surrounding world and its people. The pupils of the local lower primary school were his main theme.
'A stranger's eye'
A photograph is not only a picture of someone – it is also a picture by someone. Ärnström follows the long-established tradition when a minority population is explored and depicted by 'a stranger's eye', which cuts both ways. 'In Time of Photography' is a both a journey in Sápmi and a journey through the history of photography. The exhibition encompasses the period from 1863 until 2010 and focuses on the relationship between photography, culture, power and identity. Who took which pictures in Sápmi – when, and, not least, in what purpose?
I fotografiets tid ('In Time of Photogrpahy')/ Kulturnett Troms – Culture Network Troms
Sjelden fotoskatt fra Sápmi ('Unique photo treasure from Sápmi') /The University of Tromsø
Edited by Kirsten Verling kirsten.verling@abm-utvikling.no
