Maria Huhmarniemi: Muukalaisvaeltaja / Alien Hiker

A series of photos titled to Alien Hiker is based on political and symbolic connotations connected to the Alp landscapes and the head scarves. The work is a series of landscape photographs from Austrian Alps, in which scarves wave in the wind like flags. When the mountain views create images of national pride and white men in the mountain conquests, the scarves of the installations raises issues of multiculturalism and woman. The materials and designs of scarves represent several cultures and countries, such as Muslims, Palestinians, Eastern-Europeans, and India. I have attached them to the modern hiking sticks and settled them to the places, in which their colours, patterns or shapes relate to the Alpine landscape. Trough the series of photos I observe how cultural interpretation of the mountain landscape can be changed by new element such as scarves. I also aim to honour the richness and interaction of cultures and create Alpine landscape imagery, which includes space for other cultures and religious. I took the photographs in Alps in Western part of Austria during two-week invitational artist-in-residency SilvrettAtelier in August 2010. Every second year ten international artists are invited to work at Bielerhöhe and at surroundings of Silvretta-lake.

Artist's page