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Visitors to Tate Modern are accustomed to unexpected experiences in its expansive Turbine Hall. They have sunbathed under an man-made sun, slid down spiral slides, and observed automated jellyfish hovering through the air. But this marks the first time they will be engaging themselves in the detailed nose chambers of a reindeer. The latest artistic project for this cavernous space—created by Indigenous Sámi artist Máret Ánne Sara—encourages visitors into a maze-like construction inspired by the scaled-up inside of a reindeer's nose cavities. Upon entering, they can meander around or chill out on pelts, listening on earphones to community leaders telling narratives and wisdom.

Why the Nose?

Why the nose? It might seem quirky, but the artwork honors a obscure biological feat: experts have found that in a fraction of a second, the reindeer's nose can warm the incoming air it inhales by 80°C, helping the creature to survive in harsh Arctic climates. Scaling the nose to human-scale dimensions, Sara notes, "creates a sense of smallness that you as a person are not in control over nature." Sara is a ex- reporter, writer for kids, and land defender, who hails from a herding family in the far north of Norway. "Perhaps that creates the possibility to change your perspective or evoke some humility," she states.

An Homage to Indigenous Heritage

The maze-like structure is among various components in Sara's engaging commission showcasing the culture, science, and worldview of the Sámi, the continent's original inhabitants. Partially migratory, the Sámi number roughly 100,000 people distributed across northern Norway, Finland, Sweden, and the Russian Arctic (an area they call Sápmi). They have endured persecution, cultural suppression, and eradication of their tongue by all four nations. With an emphasis on the reindeer, an animal at the center of the Sámi belief system and founding narrative, the art also spotlights the people's struggles associated with the environmental emergency, loss of territory, and external control.

Symbolism in Materials

Along the long access incline, there's a towering, eighty-five-foot sculpture of pelts trapped by utility lines. It represents a metaphor for the political and economic systems constraining the Sámi. Partly a utility pole, part heavenly staircase, this section of the exhibit, named Goavve-, refers to the Sámi name for an severe climatic event, whereby dense layers of ice appear as varying temperatures liquefy and ice over the snow, trapping the reindeers' primary cold-season food, fungus. The condition is a result of global heating, which is taking place up to at an accelerated rate in the Polar region than in other regions.

A few years back, I visited Sara in the Norwegian far north during a severe cold period and went with Sámi reindeer keepers on their Arctic vehicles in chilly conditions as they hauled trailers of supplementary feed on to the barren tundra to provide through labor. The reindeer gathered round us, scratching the frozen ground in vain attempts for vegetative bits. This resource-intensive and laborious procedure is having a severe impact on animal rearing—and on the animals' natural survival. But the alternative is starvation. As goavvi winters become frequent, reindeer are perishing—a number from starvation, others drowning after falling into water bodies through thinning ice sheets. In a sense, the work is a tribute to them. "By overlapping of elements, in a way I'm transporting the condition to London," says Sara.

Opposing Perspectives

This artwork also emphasizes the stark contrast between the western view of electricity as a commodity to be utilized for economic benefit and livelihood and the Sámi outlook of life force as an natural power in animals, people, and the environment. The gallery's history as a industrial facility is tied up in this, as is what the Sámi consider eco-imperialism by regional governments. In their efforts to be standard bearers for sustainable power, these states have locked horns with the Sámi over the building of turbine fields, hydroelectric dams, and extraction sites on their traditional territory; the Sámi argue their legal protections, ways of life, and traditions are endangered. "It's very difficult being such a tiny group to protect your rights when the arguments are based on global sustainability," Sara notes. "Resource exploitation has appropriated the language of sustainability, but nonetheless it's just aiming to find alternative ways to continue patterns of expenditure."

Personal Conflicts

Sara and her family have personally conflicted with the Norwegian government over its increasingly stringent regulations on animal husbandry. A few years ago, Sara's sibling initiated a sequence of finally failed legal cases over the mandatory slaughter of his animals, ostensibly to stop excessive feeding. As a show of solidarity, Sara created a extended series of creations titled Pile O'Sápmi comprising a huge screen of four hundred reindeer skulls, which was exhibited at the 2017 event Documenta 14 and later purchased by the national institution, where it hangs in the lobby.

Creative Expression as Awareness

Among the community, creative work is the only domain in which they can be understood by outsiders. Two years ago, Sara was {one of three|among a group of|