It happened in Orusjohka: Nils-Johan Labba

Duojár Nils-Johan Labba is based in Giron/Kiruna and Orusjohka/Årosjokk, where the surrounding landscape inspires his Sami handicrafts. Around fifty of his works are displayed in an installation that also depicts his work in the workshop. The author Elin Anna Labba, his sister, contributes interviews and a newly written text. The exhibition is part of Kin's multi-year thematic thread Hand, Heart and Brain.

Duodji (Sámi handicraft) is more than a profession for Nils-Johan Labba – it is part of an identity based on generations of knowledge. He tries to recreate old forms and objects used in everyday life by older generations, which means that development in duodji does not always have to be about challenging and designing new forms. It can just as easily be about bringing older traditions to life.

Born in 1984, he graduated from Sámij åhpadusgouvdasj/the Sami Education Centre in Jokkmokk in 2008 and has been working as a Sami craftsman ever since. Elin Anna Labba writes non-fiction and fiction based on interviews and Sami storytelling, most recently in the novel The Home of the Drowned (Norstedts, 2024). Duodji is a recurring theme in her books and texts.