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Attendees to the renowned gallery are accustomed to unusual encounters in its vast Turbine Hall. They have basked under an man-made sun, descended down amusement rides, and observed robotic jellyfish drifting through the air. Yet this marks the initial time they will be immersing themselves in the complex nasal cavities of a reindeer. The latest artistic project for this huge space—developed by Indigenous Sámi artist Máret Ánne Sara—invites gallerygoers into a labyrinthine construction inspired by the enlarged interior of a reindeer's nose cavities. Upon entering, they can stroll around or chill out on pelts, listening on earphones to Sámi elders telling narratives and wisdom.

Focus on the Nasal Passages

Why the nose? It might sound whimsical, but the artwork celebrates a little-known biological feat: experts have uncovered that in less than one second, the reindeer's nose can warm the surrounding air it takes in by 80°C, enabling the creature to endure in harsh Arctic temperatures. Scaling the nose to bigger than a person, Sara explains, "produces a perception of insignificance that you as a human being are not dominant over nature." She is a ex- writer, writer for kids, and rights advocate, who is from a herding family in northern Norway. "Perhaps that creates the potential to alter your outlook or evoke some humbleness," she continues.

An Homage to Indigenous Heritage

The winding structure is one of several features in Sara's engaging exhibition celebrating the heritage, science, and beliefs of the Sámi, the continent's original inhabitants. Partially migratory, the Sámi total about 100,000 people distributed across the Norwegian north, Finland, the Swedish Lapland, and the Kola region (an territory they call Sápmi). They have endured oppression, cultural suppression, and repression of their tongue by all four nations. Through highlighting the reindeer, an animal at the core of the Sámi mythology and founding narrative, the installation also highlights the community's issues connected to the global warming, loss of territory, and external control.

Symbolism in Materials

Along the extended entry slope, there's a towering, 26-meter sculpture of reindeer hides entangled by utility lines. It serves as a metaphor for the political and economic systems constraining the Sámi. Part pylon, part celestial ladder, this section of the exhibit, titled Goavve-, refers to the Sámi term for an harsh environmental condition, in which thick coatings of ice form as varying weather melt and refreeze the snow, encasing the reindeers' key cold-season food, moss. The condition is a consequence of global heating, which is taking place up to at an accelerated rate in the Far North than elsewhere.

Previously, I visited Sara in Guovdageaidnu during a goavvi winter and went with Sámi herders on their Arctic vehicles in freezing temperatures as they carried carts of animal nutrition on to the barren tundra to dispense manually. The herd surrounded round us, scratching the icy ground in vain attempts for vegetative bits. This expensive and labour-intensive process is having a significant impact on animal rearing—and on the animals' natural survival. However the choice is starvation. As these icy periods become routine, reindeer are dying—a number from starvation, others submerging after sinking in water bodies through prematurely melting ice. To some extent, the work is a tribute to them. "Through the stacking of materials, in a way I'm transporting the condition to London," says Sara.

Contrasting Belief Systems

The installation also underscores the clear divergence between the modern understanding of power as a commodity to be harnessed for economic benefit and survival and the Sámi worldview of energy as an inherent life force in creatures, humans, and nature. Tate Modern's legacy as a coal and oil power station is connected to this, as is what the Sámi view as eco-imperialism by Scandinavian states. As they strive to be leaders for renewable energy, Scandinavian countries have locked horns with the Sámi over the construction of wind energy projects, water power facilities, and extraction sites on their native soil; the Sámi argue their legal protections, livelihoods, and way of life are threatened. "It's very difficult being such a small minority to protect your rights when the reasons are grounded in global sustainability," Sara notes. "Extractivism has co-opted the language of sustainability, but nonetheless it's just striving to find alternative ways to persist in patterns of expenditure."

Family Challenges

She and her family have themselves conflicted with the state authorities over its ever-stricter rules on reindeer management. Previously, Sara's sibling undertook a set of unsuccessful court actions over the required reduction of his livestock, ostensibly to stop excessive feeding. As a show of solidarity, Sara developed a four-year set of pieces titled Pile O'Sápmi featuring a huge drape of four hundred animal bones, which was displayed at the 2017's art exhibition Documenta 14 and later obtained by the National Museum of Oslo, where it resides in the lobby.

The Role of Art in Activism

Among the community, creative work appears the sole domain in which they can be understood by outsiders. Two years ago, Sara was {one of three|among a group of|