Exhibition: Melting Barricades
By Inuk Silis Høegh and Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen
On Thursday the 10th of October, a new exhibition opens at Nuuk Art Museum. The title of the exhibition is “Melting Barricades” and was an art project by Inuk Silis Høegh and Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen. The project has its 20th jubilee in 2024.
Do you remember when you could sign up for Greenland’s military? When uniformed soldiers dressed in full military gear marched under the Greenlandic flag through the streets of Nuuk?
Wearing uniforms, standing next to a military vehicle and a tent, the artists Inuk Silis Høegh and Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen proclaimed through megaphone the creation of the Greenlandic military in 2004. The volunteers were measured and weighed, and were asked to provide information about their abilities in dog sledding, boating and snowmobiling, or whether they had caught a seal, reindeer or polar bear.
The art project was titled “Melting Barricades” – a sensational art project that was the first of its kind in Greenland. The project focused on war and colonial relations through a sharp post-colonial critique, wrapped in sharp humor and irony.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Augustinusfonden, Nuuk Art Museum had the opportunity to acquire the entire “Melting Barricades” collection in 2024. The acquisition now makes it possible for the museum to present the visionary work to a wide audience and ensure its future preservation as part of Greenland’s art history.
“Melting Barricades created great debate and reflection on military, sovereignty, the colonial relationship to Denmark and to Greenlandic values in general, and at the same time posed an alternative reality. The project is an absolute masterpiece in Greenlandic art, and it is with great awe and pride that Nuuk Art Museum will house the collection. A huge thank you to the artists for collaboration and to the Augustinusfonden for the support.” – Museum manager Nivi Christensen.
The collection includes i.a. video works, posters, passports, flags, campaign stickers, survival manual, tent, uniforms and sketches that will be part of the exhibition.
The exhibition opens on Thursday the 10th of October at 5 pm. The exhibition can be experienced at Nuuk Art Museum until the 30th of December and is supported by the Augustinusfonden.