Venice Biennale 2019 - Giovanna Esposito Yussif: Changing Structures Closest to Home

Title: Venice Biennale 2019 - Giovanna Esposito Yussif: Changing Structures Closest to Home
Author: Theresa Sigmund
Media Outlet: C&
Publish Date: May 3, 2019

"(...) in our Berlin Iteration I worked closely with artist Outi Pieski and researcher Eeva-Kristiina Harlin to bring forward the case of rematriation of the Sámi cultural belongings that are in German collections. We requested on loan three Sámi horn hats that are part of the collection of Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Outi and Eeva presented a powerful lecture on four voices. It was important to take their research to Berlin because only few of these hats are in Sámi territory and the majority are in European museums, such as those in Berlin. And due to the ongoing discourse concerning the Humboldt Forum, and increasing claims for repatriation of belongings taken by various means from their societies. It was necessary to bring these questions forward while challenging the notion of repatriation, by proposing rematriation as a different form of relation with and activation of cultural belongings."