Sáhtána Álbmot (Djevelens Folk/Devil’s Kin)
Viktor Bomstad and Magnus Skei Holmen
20:00
Join us at Landmark for a 35-minute audiovisual performance by artist and filmmaker Magnus Skei Holmen and joiker and musician Viktor Bomstad. The artists present Sáhtána Álbmot (Djevelens Folk/Devil’s Kin), a meditation on historical sources that portray the Sámi people from an outside perspective, often through a demonising and dehumanising lens.
The work draws on writing such as that of cartographer and priest Olaus Magnus, who in his book Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (A Description of the Northern Peoples) demonised the Sámi people as “the devil’s own kin in the North”, a place from which, he wrote, “evil appeareth”. While revisiting historical sources, Sáhtána Álbmot also moves towards different registers shaped by the artists themselves, depicting specific sites and landscapes with a genuine connection to Sámi culture. The work finds form through the conversation, contrast and friction between the artists’ perspectives and demonising historical narratives.
This event held in collaboration with LitFest Bergen, Birgon ja biras samiid searvi (Bergen og omegn sameforening/Bergen and Surrounding Area Sami Association), leading up to Sámi álbmotbeaivi (Samisk nasjonaldag / Sámi National Day).
Viktor Bomstad (b. 1992) is a traditional joiker and experimental guitarist from the north of Sápmi/Norway. He is the current regional joiker for the counties of Troms and Finnmark, a one-of-a-kind position in Norway that seeks to promote exciting joikers in the region. Viktor is passionate about exploring different sonic traditions and pushing the boundaries of how joik can be heard in new contexts and sonic traditions. He is regularly seen on the Norwegian experimental scene in different constellations, both as a solo artist and in different bands. In 2022, Bomstad released his first solo album, Sámi Noise, on Nice Things Records. His band Sex Magick Wizards has garnered a cult following in psychedelic rock clubs in Norway and Germany, with their third album, Death Grip, being released in August 2024. His music tends to be gritty, trance-inducing and feverish, with a heavy emphasis on improvisation.
Magnus Skei Holmen (b.1991) is an artist-filmmaker and curator from Stjørdal, living in Romsa/Tromsø. In his artistic practice, Holmen mainly works with artists’ moving images and installation. He is interested in building a practice that consists of making/producing film and writing/thinking about film. He is dedicated to the social life of film, thereby programming/curating film screenings and talks around the use of the medium; how it influences us and shapes our gaze. In 2018, he co-founded the parasitic screening collective HÆRK and are now co-organising the artist-run space Kurant Visningsrom and DIY club concept Kabelvogue – en klubb for alle.
