New exhibition in Katuaq focuses on nature and climate

With the exhibition Protect Nature, Miki Jacobsen invites the audience into a universe of myths, climate change and the howling sled dogs of childhood.

Blue and green motifs hang all around Katuaq. Polar bears and fish appear on both small and large paintings. Miki Jacobsen walks among his works, which now fill both the exhibition space and the café in the cultural center in Nuuk.

– Nature means an incredible amount to us, both spiritually and physically. Spiritually, it can provide peace. But we all know here in Greenland that nature is the ultimate decider. And I think people are starting to discover that in the world, too, he says.

Since his first solo exhibition in 1988, Miki Jacobsen has incorporated Greenlandic myths, animals and landscapes into his art. With works spanning from 1987 to the present day, his new exhibition Protect Nature, invites you on a journey through both his own artistic universe and the Greenlandic reality that surrounds it.

Protect nature,

Greenlandic nature and climate change

A large canvas hangs from the ceiling in Katuaq. With a sled dog playing the guitar.

– When I was a child, there were more dogs than people. Back then, the music, or the sound of the Arctic for me, was the sound of the sled dogs starting to howl – or sing, he says.

But nature is changing. Also in Greenland.

As early as 2005, Miki Jacobsen commented on climate change with the work The Red Snowmobile, which mixes images of a snowmobile, an Air Greenland plane and a dog sled.

The Red Snowmobile

– It was a somewhat humorous comment on climate change. Which is still being talked about around the world today. And people are discovering more and more that the climate is actually changing. But here we have been feeling it for years, he says.

With Protect Nature, Miki Jacobsen would like to focus on the fact that we all have a shared responsibility for nature. Especially right now, when there is so much focus on Greenland from all over the world.

Protect nature

– We are all responsible for our nature. Those of us who live here have a great responsibility to take care of it. But we are also experiencing a large influx of tourists – and that is of course great for those who can make money from it. But we must also remember to take care of our nature in that context.

Respect for nature – and for art

But for Miki Jacobsen it’s not just about respecting nature. It’s also about respecting the people who live in nature. And for their art.

– In some way, we have been somewhat downplayed over time and have been perceived as a people who never really grew up. We should be happy that we were looked after – and we are in many ways. But we also want to be respected equally as human beings.

And art is his way of holding on to that respect – and creating reflection, concludes Miki Jacobsen. – Art can give a sense of identity, and it can give inspiration, questions and reflection. It can do many things. I don’t think we can live without it.

Miki Jacobsen looks back – and forward – with her new exhibition, Protecting Nature, which can be seen in Katuaq until September 28.

Protect nature,