Outi Pieski, Tate St Ives, Cornwall

When it comes to attracting visitors, Tate St Ives has some stiff competition, namely the area’s stunning countryside and coastline. But the gallery itself has strong links with the landscape through the many artists who have been drawn to west Cornwall for its natural beauty.

In 1928 artists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood visited St Ives and met local artist Alfred Wallis. Nicholson later moved to nearby St Ives with sculptor Barbara Hepworth and the couple were soon joined by Russian-born artist Naum Gabo. This made this small Cornish town a center for British art in the 1950s and 60s.

Building on this artistic reputation, Tate St Ives opened in 1993. It was extended in 2017 with the addition of a large temporary exhibition space.

Since then, a component of its temporary exhibition program has focused on bringing new perspectives to figures such as Heron, Gabo and Hepworth. A second component featured contemporary artists that the gallery believes reflect the spirit of experimentation and radicalism of those earlier artists.

The current show, which opened on February 10 and runs through May 6, features the work of Outi Pieski, who was born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1973. Pieski is a member of the Sami people, an indigenous group that lives in a region spread between Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Working primarily with painting and installation, her work explores the spiritual relationship between humans and their environment.

Porthmeor Studios is one of the key art venues in the city and it is here that Pieski created an installation for her Tate St Ives show. The Grade II listed building, which was built in the early 1800s for the fishing industry, overlooks. a gorgeous beach that is often full of sun worshippers, surfers and swimmers. The studios housed Heron and Nicholson, as well as artists such as Francis Bacon and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham.

Pieski’s exhibition represents a growing interest in the work of indigenous artists, although the term can be misleading for a disparate group that is spread across the globe. Greater recognition of contemporary Indigenous artists is evident at large-scale art events such as this year’s Venice Biennale, as well as in regional UK galleries such as Ikon in Birmingham and The Box in Plymouth, both have held exhibitions with artists who fall into this category.

Adding to this interest, the Tate has just announced an initiative to bring more work by Indigenous artists into its collection. The program was launched with the acquisition of two works by Pieski, both of which can be seen at her show at St Ives. One is a woven hanging installation, Guržot ja guovssat/Spell on You!, from 2020, while the other is its companion piece Skábmavuođđu/Spell on Me!, which was created at her residency at Porthmeor Studios.

Pieski is also of increasing interest to artists who are happy to describe themselves as activists. She says that her art is very much created for the Sami people, not for the international art community. Her art is partly an attempt to reconnect with the elements of Sami culture that were lost in the wake of Scandinavian colonialism and the erasure of indigenous peoples’ traditions. Some of the works are made in collaboration with other Sámi women.

Drawing inspiration from Sami visual heritage, Pieski’s large-scale textile installations feature tassels based on traditional clothing. They also reflect the concept of “duodji”, an indigenous craft practice that was marginalized following the colonization of Sápmi, the Sami people’s proper name for their traditional territory. By practicing this often female-led way of making, Pieski seeks to strengthen the sacred relationships between her work and her ancestral land, a concept known as “rematriation.”

More and more artists are becoming interested in climate issues and it is not surprising that it is a crucial issue for an indigenous artist like Pieski. Here the work is deeply rooted in the landscapes of the Sami region, where environmental degradation and land rights have been sources of conflict.

Historically, many indigenous communities have been at the forefront of battles to protect the land from exploitation by global mining and petrochemical companies. Pieski is particularly concerned with what she describes as “green colonialism” and the continued exploitation of indigenous land, albeit under the banner of sustainability and environmentalism.

This is a fascinating show that raises questions about a whole range of issues, including indigenous rights, art and activism, and the relationship between humans, animals and nature.