Julie Edel Hardenberg (b. 1971, Nuuk), Ivínguak Stork Høegh (b. 1982, Aasiaat), Inuk Silis

Høegh (b. 1972, Qaqortoq) and Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen (b. 1977, Aeroe) occupy

central positions within contemporary art practices that critically examine Greenland’s

complex history and cultural heritage. Carrying both history and futurity within their works,

the artists engage their present moment through symbolism, material strategies and

conceptual approaches. Their practices reveal how colonialism has sought to overwrite,

control and render Greenlandic culture and identity invisible, while simultaneously pointing

toward ways in which Greenland’s cultural expressions may be strengthened and shaped on

their own terms. The exhibition invites audiences to reflect on questions of identity, society

and cultural heritage, and to consider how history, present-day challenges and global power

dynamics affect Greenland’s ability to define its own future.

 

The exhibition opens at a time marked by extraordinary political and strategic tensions.

Global power relations are in rapid flux, and the future appears increasingly unpredictable.

As geopolitics, territorial ambitions and questions of sovereignty once again rise to

prominence on the international agenda, the works presented here acquire renewed urgency.

Art reminds us that the world is not only reflected, but also measured and interpreted, and

that artworks can function as sensitive instruments for registering the dynamics of the

Present. 

 

At the same time, political realities are shifting from week to week, not least due to frequent

and unpredictable statements emerging from the United States. The outcome of Donald

Trump’s actions and the future direction of U.S. foreign policy remain uncertain. This

uncertainty also shapes how the exhibition is read and communicated. Introductory texts and

contextual frameworks therefore cannot be understood as static, but must remain responsive

to a changing world. To experience this exhibition is thus also to find oneself within an

unfolding historical moment, where meaning, interpretation and perspective are in constant

Negotiation.

 

The exhibition begins with a Greenlandic ready-made by Julie Edel Hardenberg. The cross,

inscribed with “1721 –” and no end date, refers to the arrival of the Danish-Norwegian

missionary Hans Egede in Greenland. Egede’s arrival marked a structural rupture, initiating

colonial and religious systems that reorganized social, cultural and economic life according to

European norms. While Greenland’s history long predates colonization, this moment

represents a profound break with lasting consequences for identity, culture and social

Organization.

 

At the same time, the work conveys that history cannot be denied, and that all are shaped by

it. Historical events cannot be undone, yet choices remain that will shape the future. The

work is understated, but invites reflection and contemplation, particularly at a moment when

Greenlanders increasingly articulate aspirations for full independence and sovereign

statehood. The work is overtly political, and the desire for a concrete endpoint to colonial

processes has become ever more pressing. This urgency is further intensified by repeated

statements from the American president, such as “We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” which

once again place questions of territory and sovereignty at the center of public discourse.

Julie Edel Hardenberg creates complex, multi-layered works that invite critical reflection.

She connects personal experience with historical and political structures, as seen in the video

work My First Coin. Her practice challenges viewers to consider questions of power,

belonging and ambivalence, while resisting simplistic conclusions. Hardenberg offers a

nuanced articulation of Greenlandic identity, articulated in the photographic series Den stille

mangfoldighet (The Silent Diversity), and foregrounds structural conditions that continue to

shape society. Through her work, she operates at the intersection of visual art and research,

challenging stereotypes both locally and internationally, and contributing a distinct critical

voice to contemporary Greenlandic art.

 

Inuk Silis Høegh and Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen collaborate as an artist duo on the

project Melting Barricades. Initiated in 2004 in connection with the 25th anniversary of

Greenlandic Home Rule, the installation presented a fictive Greenlandic army, complete with

propaganda material, drafting ceremonies and a military headquarters. The project emerged

from contemporary debates on Greenlandic independence and posed fundamental questions

about which values a future nation might seek to protect, and which it might contribute to a

globalized world. The invention of a Greenlandic army functioned as a conceptual framework

for exploring these questions through speculation, irony and humor.

The project has now been reactivated in light of an increasingly tense geopolitical climate, in

which issues of territory, military presence and sovereignty once again occupy a central

position in the Arctic, amplified by a media landscape marked by continuous news cycles and

political statements. In this context, the installation explores a speculative alternative history

in which Greenland is attributed military ambitions toward Denmark—and further outward

toward the United States—while critically examining questions of cultural visibility, values

and power in relation to global interests.

 

A new work produced specifically for the exhibition at Kunsthall 3,14 visualizes the territory

Norway attempted to occupy in 1933, known as Eirik Raudes Land. This historical episode,

which concluded when the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague ruled in

Denmark’s favor, underscores Greenland’s long-standing strategic and geopolitical

significance to multiple nations.

 

Although Melting Barricades was originally conceived as a satirical and speculative project,

it resonates with renewed intensity today. The work functions as a critical reflection on

historical and contemporary power structures, and may be understood as an early warning

system addressing issues of self-determination, national identity and sovereignty. The project

demonstrates how art can combine humor, speculative fiction and social critique to open

spaces for reflection and debate, and how an apparently absurd scenario can acquire concrete

political relevance in the face of new and tangible threats to Greenland’s autonomy.

Ivínguak Stork Høegh’s practice is deeply rooted in Greenlandic realities, while

simultaneously addressing global concerns. Through digital photo collages, she investigates

what it means to be Greenlandic today—within a landscape shaped by history, colonial

narratives, natural resources and social transformation. Drawing on archival photographs, her

own images and graphic elements, she creates visual montages that are at once visually

striking and confrontational.

 

A recurring theme in Høegh’s work is identity and belonging. She explores how a people

defines itself when external gazes—from colonial powers, researchers and media—have for

centuries shaped images of the “exotic Arctic.” In series such as Arctic Exotic, she juxtaposes

Greenlandic motifs with tropical animals or places Greenlanders in unexpected and displaced

contexts. Nature and environment are ever-present in her imagery, revealing how tradition,

climate change and globalization are closely intertwined. Humor and absurdity—such as a

dog sled pulled by zebras—both disarm and sharpen the viewer’s attention. Her work thus

becomes a polyphonic narrative of Greenland’s past, present and possible futures.

Taken together, Hardenberg, Stork Høegh and Silis Høegh & Havsteen-Mikkelsen present a

multifaceted picture of contemporary Greenlandic art today—an artistic field that actively

engages with history, power and social transformation. Through diverse artistic strategies,

they examine how colonial structures continue to shape understandings of identity, territory

and belonging, while insisting on Greenland as an active agent in its own history.

Working across media—from photo collage, video and installation to sculpture and objects—

the artists share a concern with how past, present and future are inextricably intertwined.

Their works reveal experiences of loss and oppression, while also articulating resistance,

critical agency and visions of alternative futures.

 

At a moment when economic, military and strategic interests increasingly converge on the

Arctic, the exhibition underscores how vulnerable local cultures can become in the face of

global power struggles. When external forces threaten to reduce places, people and cultures

to resources within broader geopolitical narratives, art assumes particular significance. It

becomes a space for complexity, where conflicting perspectives may coexist, and where

questions of representation, self-determination and historical responsibility can be explored

without the demand for definitive answers. In this way, the exhibition emerges not only as a

reflection on Greenland’s current situation, but as an active contribution to the broader

conversation about who has the right to define history, identity and the future.