Kolonialismens färger – Gränser / Kolonialisma Ivnit – Rajat

In Slottsparken, four textile flags are hanging between two trees. The subjects are based on Lena Stenberg’s family history and linked to the state interventions of the 1900s that splintered Sámi families. The artist was born in the Sámi village of Laevas outside Kiruna and has family roots in Karesuando, where forced displacements devastated both land and lives. Through old photographs and documents, she’s followed her family’s ties to lands that today lie in Finland and Norway. In her art, she returns to how nature and living conditions are affected by political decisions and exploitation. By merging family photographs with the colours and shapes of the flag, she shows how national borders have pierced people’s everyday lives. The work reminds us that colonialism is not just a thing of the past.