Britta Marakatt-Labba / Cosmos

Bildmuseet presents artist Britta Marakatt-Labba in her most extensive solo exhibition to date, Kosmos. More than sixty works have been brought together from collections in Sweden and Norway, including Historjá — a 24-metre-long embroidery depicting the history of the Sámi people.

Britta Marakatt-Labba’s special technique is embroidery, using thin yarns of wool, silk, linen on fabric, often in combination with screenprinting and collage. The motifs in her poetic and distinctive works often originate from Sami culture. Creating epic narratives she moves effortlessly between past and present, blending memories, tradition and Sami mythology with contemporary vernacular living.

Britta Marakatt-Labba’s production extends over more than three decades and consists primarily of textile works but includes also graphic prints, book illustrations, scenography and costumes for film and theatre. She has produced a number of public works in Norway and Sweden, of which the most remarkable is Historjá [History], a 40 cm high and 24 m long embroidery narrating the story of the Sami people, with the reindeer caravan as a central motif. This work, which in its detail and monumentality brings associations to such art history classics as the Bayeux tapestry, took four years to complete. It was funded by KORO, the Norwegian fund for public art, installed at the University of Tromsø in 2007. Bildmuseet has been given a unique opportunity to present this work, now shown in Sweden for the first time.

Britta Marakatt-Labba / Cosmos brings together more than sixty textile works by the artist, on loan from some thirty public and private collections in Norway and Sweden. The exhibition is produced by Bildmuseet. Curator: Brita Täljedal.

Britta Marakatt-Labba lives and works in Övre Soppero. She has participated in many solo- and group exhibitions in Sweden and internationally, such as Norway, Denmark, Iceland, China, Canada, Japan, and Russia. She is represented in public and private collections in Sweden, Norway and Finland and has received several awards and artist stipends. Recently, she completed the costumes for the Sami Theatre’s presentation of Staffan Göthe’s play A night in February, which premiered in Kiruna on the 12th of February.