In this cameraless film, digitally animated northern lights intertwine with a luohti, a Northern Sami yoik, performed by the indigenous Sámi musician Ánnámáret. The yoik tells of homeless, wandering spirits. The piece is dedicated to the memory of the Sámi ancestors whose remains were robbed from cemeteries across Sápmi, the regional areas of the Sami peopele, around 100–150 years ago in the name of racist scientific research. Some of these remains were only recently reburied, in 2022, in the regions of Inari, Utsjoki, and Nellim.
The animation’s imagery, landscapes that alternately dissolve and reform, is created by digitally manipulating drawings made in 1839 by French illustrator Louis Bévalet, who documented the northern lights during an expedition to the Alta region. His illustrations now find new life in this work.
Ánnámáret’s yoik is accompanied by Ilkka Heinonen on the jouhikko (Carelian bowed lyre) and Turkka Inkilä’s electronic music. The work is part of a continuum of works made in collaboration by this four-member artistic team. They have produced a series of video works and short films as well as two music albums and perform together live at concerts and festivals.