Tomas Colbengtson, b. 1957, grew up in a small Sámi village near Björkvattnet in Tärna, under the Arctic circle in Sweden. In his artwork, he asks how colonial heritage has changed Indigenous lives and landscapes, both of the Sámi and other Indigenous peoples. Having lost his mother tongue, the Southern Sámi language, he works with visual art, using Sámi history and collective memory as the source of his art. He is continuously experimenting with new forms of media and material, from overlay glass and metal printing to etching and digital art forms. This way, he seeks to assemble a language to formulate the loss but also rejuvenation of Sámi identity.
He is the initiator of one of the first art residences for indigenous artists, Sápmi salasta / Sápmi embraces. His work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions. He is represented at the new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway and the Sami Parlament in Karasjok Norway.
The children of the sun
Sámi drum, screenprint oil on canvas, gold leaf, wood, electric motor, brass ring,
1200 x 900 x 400 mm, 2021
Giela dájva (Language landscape)
Oil on aluminium, 1210 x 970 mm, 2021
Residential school
Oil on aluminium, 1100 x 800 mm, 2021
Sápmie 2021
Screenprint on PVC, 2000 X 650 mm, 2021
Defaced
Screenprint on PVC, 2000 X 650 mm, 2021
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Tomas Colbengtson
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson
The children of the sun
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson
The children of the sun (detail)
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson
Sápmie and Defaced
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson
Giela dáiva
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson
Residential school
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson
Residential school, Daiva and
The children of the sun
Photo: Elisabeth Ohlson