Repetition, circles and weaving characterise this new performance commission Stáinnarbánit - Wolffish teeth, from Borealis Artist in Residence, Elina Waage Mikalsen. Taking as its starting point the very short and possibly endless form of the luohti (joik) Elina combines electronics, vocal performance and weaving to allow small repetitions to tell bigger stories, including that of the rátnu. A weaving tradition once practised all over Sápmi, today rátnu is a living tradition surviving only in the sea-Sámi village Olmmáivággi of Elina’s mother. Stáinnarbánit, reffering to the name of one of the patterns used in the weaving tradition, will be a performance about soft and repetitive work and how all objects speak, if we just listen closely.

Over two years Elina Waage Mikalsen has been exploring the interaction of Sámi history, identity and erasure with experimental sound, music and listening practices through her Borealis Artist in Residency. Her project has engaged many different voices and practices across Sápmi and other indigenous communities, as well as creating performances, radio shows, workshops and symposia.

As a Sámi artist and musician Elina’s work often explores the in-between spaces, in histories and in understandings of the world, the voices that are absent or erased, both here and in the underworld. Her work has been performed and exhibited at the National Museum of Norway, LIAF – the Lofoten International Art Festival, and the Singapore Biennale, amongst others, and her sound works are released on Breton Cassette.