Máret Ánne Sara is a Sámi artist from a reindeer herding family in Sápmi. Her multisensory installation Goavve-Geabbil responds to the history of Tate Modern’s site — a former oil and coal power station — inviting us to view energy not as a resource to be exploited, but as a sacred life-force rooted in ancestral knowledge and interconnection.
Reindeer herding is a cornerstone of Sámi culture, shaping the relationship between people, lands and animals. It recognises the interdependence and intrinsic value of all living beings. Sara combines hides, bones and wood derived from reindeer herding practices with industrial materials, sound and scent, to reflect on the destruction of ecosystems, and the erosion of Sámi culture due to mining and energy developments in Sápmi.
Goavve-Geabbil stands as a living monument, with Sara calling on us to remember that ‘nature is not an endless resource to exploit. If we expect to receive from it, to sustain life for all beings, we must also ensure its health and ability to regenerate’. Through this work Sara upholds Sámi science and philosophy as progressive, powerful and vital to shaping the future of our shared world.
Goavve-Geabbil marks the tenth in a series of commissions in partnership with Hyundai Motor, transforming the Turbine Hall over the last decade.
Hyundai Commission Maret Anne Sara. Photo © Tate (Sonal Bakrania)
Hyundai Commission Maret Anne Sara. Photo © Tate (Sonal Bakrania)
Hyundai Commission Maret Anne Sara. Photo © Tate (Sonal Bakrania)
Hyundai Commission Maret Anne Sara. Photo © Tate (Sonal Bakrania)
