Light for Lichen

Light for Lichen is a ongoing project that brings reindeer husbandry, conservation burning, and forestry into conversation. It was initiated by Professor of Forest History Lars Östlund and early career researcher and reindeer herder Elle Eriksson (SLU, Umeå) , whose expertise in forest ecology and reindeer husbandry underpins the project. It is developed in collaboration with the Gällivare Forest Sámi community and the forest company Sveaskog AB (Norrbotten).
The reindeer and its ancestral right to co-exist in the boreal forest is the conceptual anchor of the project. Grounded in Sámi traditional knowledge (árbediehtu)—which understands nature, reindeer, and herders as deeply interconnected—the project explores connections between reindeer husbandry, conservation burning, lichen restoration, improved forestry practices, and audiovisual documentation as practices of care that sustain the reindeer’s ability to continue inhabiting and moving through its ancestral territory.
Developed through long-term collaboration with Gällivare skogssameby, the project documents and archives seasonal land-based practices—including calf marking, herd separation, and slaughter—alongside forestry activities such as thinning and conservation burning that aim to restore ground lichen over the long term. These experiences are translated into an immersive audiovisual narrative that communicates their ecological, cultural, and political significance through sensorial experience.
Employing situated artistic methodologies and multimodal forms of documentation, the project creates a platform for dialogue between Sámi land-based knowledge, forest history, and scientific research. In doing so, it demonstrates how artistic practice can support the preservation and transmission of knowledge while communicating practical approaches to forest restoration.
As boreal forests face increasing pressures from industrial forestry and climate change, the project highlights the urgency of documenting, sustaining, and sharing the knowledge and practices that enable the long-term coexistence of reindeer, people, and forest ecosystems.
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