Dealing with Nordic Colonialism: Agency and Othering in Two Art Projects Invoking Living Ethnographic Displays

Abstract

In this article we explore two art projects that each, in their own way, thematise Nordic European colonialism and exhibition culture, and the relationship between the two. European Attraction Limited, by the Swedish-Norwegian artist Lars Cuzner and the Sudanese-Norwegian artist Mohamed Ali Fadlabi, was presented in the context of the Bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution in Oslo in 2014. The Sámi-Norwegian artist and architect Joar Nango’s European Everything was commissioned for documenta 14 (2017), which took place both in Athens and Kassel. The article discusses the art projects in relation to a historical exhibition practice that they directly or indirectly invoke, namely the so-called ‘living exhibition’, and the continuation of this tradition in the biennale culture of today. By emphasising this contextualisation and comparing the two art projects, we explore which opportunities for articulation of historical and contemporary agency the projects open or close. Moreover, how do European Attraction Limited and European Everything in their respective approaches relate to Nordic colonialism in the past and in the present? Central to our investigation are the terms agency, presence, hybridity, and relationality.