大象传媒

Scandinavia rests in many minds as a liberal haven, championing equality and with a generous welfare system. So what do artists have to protest about?

Louise Morris challenges her idealised view of Denmark, Finland and Norway, exploring what lies beneath the region鈥檚 glossy international image by examining the work of Scandinavia鈥檚 political artists.

A curtain of reindeer skulls is suspended outside the Norwegian parliament building, swinging macabrely in the breeze. Pile o鈥橲谩pmi is the work of indigenous S谩mi artist M谩ret 脕nne Sara, a strident artistic protest against the Norwegian government鈥檚 order to cull her brother鈥檚 reindeers - something she says violates his human and cultural rights as well as jeopardising his income. Norway鈥檚 government states that their reindeer reduction policy, culling a percentage of people鈥檚 herds, is aimed at preventing the overgrazing of the tundra. Yet this policy has come into conflict with the ancestral and indigenous rights of the Sami.

Danish artist Jeanette Ehlers is determined to make history mark the present with her staggering performance art piece Whip It Good which explicitly visualises Denmark鈥檚 connection to the slave trade - a history Ehlers says is 鈥渟wept under the carpet鈥� and not taught in schools. Whip It Good鈥檚 raw physicality and powerfully simple imagery challenges anyone who dares efface colonial history.

Most of the artists in this programme touch on, in some way, the ghosts of injustice past and how that reverberates into the present if it is not acknowledged - offering salient lessons for any region seeking to build a more just future.

Executive Producer: Sarah Cuddon
Written and produced by Louise Morris

A Curtains For Radio production for 大象传媒 Radio 4