Research about Carl Linnaeus expedition to Sápmi. Work in progress.
After a long journey from Uppsala, up along the east coast of Sweden and following the rivers west from Luleå, a 25 year old Carl Linnaeus arrives in Jokkmokk the 29th of June 1732. He was on his first research expedition, appointed by the Royal Scientific Society (Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societeten), to make an inventory of the species of Lappland but also to understand the living conditions in the north. There were also colonial ambitions – how could these landscapes better benefit the Swedish state?
During the summer of 2024, I followed in the footsteps of Linnaeus from Jokkmokk over the mountains to the Norwegian coast, as I wanted a corporeal experience of Linnaeus expedition. How did these landscapes inform or challenge him in this quest to find the divine natural order? At a residence in Jokkmokk during September 2024, I visited the traces of an exploitative way to relate to nature, like hydropower stations in Lule älv, and the mining prospect site Gallok.
Stills from an up-coming film about Linnaeus Lappland-expedition, with footage from my hike in his footsteps. Images from his diary from the expedition, kept at the Linnean Society in London.
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