Dossiers

Gaby Schulze
www.gabyschulze.de/wp

It all began with a tin can lying beneath a tree at the entrance to the Sarek National Park in Sweden, probably Europe’s last wilderness area. As half of it had been carefully covered up with a flat stone, it piqued the interest of the person who had discovered this treasure. In the can, there was a geocaching signal with the imprint “Greetings from the Elbe Sandstone Mountains“ and other indications as to its origin.

This discovery inspired sculptor Gaby Schulze to lay trails. During several trips, she created some artistic stones in the wilderness of Lapland. If one wants to follow such an artistic trail, there are two possibilities: either you find it by chance in the vast open space of Scandinavia or you can trace the coordinates indicated in the catalogue with the help of Google Maps and GPS. To begin this project, the artist found mysterious rocks in the North. The aim consisted of capturing the magic of the place by her own drawings and to carve the vegetation of moss and lichen into metal, which was then fastened onto the rocks. This is how a connection was established with the Sámi living in the region, to their culture and mythology, as the Sámi used to give offerings on prominent sacrificial stones, the so-called Siejdde or Sieidi, that were sacred sites. Fish, reindeer antlers, bones and blood were offered to pray for successful fishing and hunting or good health and fortune.

The artist is familiar with such erratic boulders from her home region in Germany. Not only does she trace back their path in her mind, as they were pushed back from the North by the glaciers of the Ice Age, but she has also retraced their steps by going on several field trips to Scandinavia and Greenland during which she heard about the traditions and myths of the Sámi and Inuit.