Traditional Sámi knowledge of both woodwork and large-scale carpentry are manifested in Aage Gaups sculpture Sleeping War Machine, carved from mangrove wood. This passive war machine appears at once menacing and ridiculous, a statue of the meaninglessness of patriarchal vanity.
About Sleeping War Machine
Mangrove wood and paint
Many of Gaup’s works relate to Sami mythology or the Sami experience, but often also a universal approach that stands up for oppressed people around the world. The sculpture, which is carved from Mangrove wood, is an expression of traditional Sami knowledge of both woodwork and carpentry.
This passive war machine is at once threatening and ridiculous, a picture of the futility of patriarchal vanity.
The sculpture Sleeping War Machine was made in Maracaibo, Venezuela, as part of the exhibition project Maya, Sami, Barí, Wayúu, Yukpa, Añú, Arte Contemporáneo in which several indigenous artists from Venezuela and Guatemala participated at the invitation of the Centro De Arte De Maracaibo Lía Bermúdez.
About Aage Gaup
Aage Gaup (b. 1943, Børselv) is an artist and set designer based in Karasjok.