Ánnámáret is one of the selected official showcase artists in Mundial Montréal, a world music event taking place in Canada from November 15–18 2022. In Ánnámáret’s audiovisual concept Nieguid Duovdagat, Ánnámáret’s music and Marja Viitahuhta’s video art gain influence from both the rich tradition of yoik and the Sami area’s lively culture, nature and everyday life, by taking the experiencer to strongly experiential worlds by means of images and music.
Marja Viitahuhta’s videos from Nieguid Duovdagat project, Dolos Niegut (2022, in featured image) and Dolat (2021) were screened at Native Spirit Festival, taking place in London in late October and early November.
The memories and documented imagery of reindeer herding and nomadic ways of life mix with the contemporary herding of reindeers in Dolos Niegut – Ancient dreams, an experimental music video to a track by Ánnámáret, Ilkka Heinonen and Turkka Inkilä from the album Nieguid duovdagat. How we perceive our everyday life affects our views as well as our imagination, our hopes and dreams. The lives connected to other beings, in this case the reindeer and how the Sámi people have lived in relation to it as well as our dependency with our environment, is present in this work. In this yoik, Ánnámáret also reaches to imagine how our predecessors perceived this world and what may remain of them in the currents of the time that we live in and in the ways we function in it. The video is part of a continuum of video works made in collaboration with Viitahuhta, Ánnámáret, Heinonen and Inkilä.
Dolat was also screened at FICCE short film festival, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from October 13–17 2022. “When we pass from this world to another, the flames of our ancestors will be waiting for us.” – Ánnámáret. A video work with the yolk Dolat by Ánnámáret, from her album “Nieguid duovdagat”. In the video, embers and fire particles twirl in the air, transforming and dancing and swirling in the dark. The imagery has been layered with effects and animation to create an illusion of reality transforming into dreamlike, imaginary visions, brought about with the song and the hypnotism of looking at the fire. Fire is at the root of human culture, as a tool, but also as a place for social gatherings and storytelling. The yoik and the visual material of the video are based on its symbolism and power. However, as well as speaking about people’s bond with fire, this yoik is about lineage; of our temporal existence and belonging to a long line of our predecessors and our successors. The video, via its own means, visualises the yoik’s message.
Mundial Montréal, November 15–18 2022, Canada
More information: Mundial Montreal