Grindadráp

Sámal Joensen-Mikines er brautryðjandi í færeyskri listasögu en hann var fyrsti Færeyingurinn sem nam við Konunglegu listaakademíuna í Kaupmannahöfn. Þrátt fyrir að Mikines hafi upplifað heimsborgaralegt andrúmsloftið í dönsku höfuðborginni hverfðist ævistarf hans um heimahagana, eyjuna Mikines (nú Mykines) sem hann kenndi sig á endanum við. Snemma á ferlinum hreifst Mikines af expressjónískri nálgun í verkum norska málarans Edvards Munch og þemu á borð við dauða, þjáningu og örvæntingu eru vissulega snar þáttur í verkum þeirra beggja. Sem ungur maður varð Mikines vitni að dauða föður síns og tveggja systkina, auk fjölmargra annarra úr nærsamfélaginu sem voru upp á náð og miskunn hafsins komnir með viðurværi sitt. Rétt eins og Munch leitaði Mikines í strigann til að tjá sorg sína. Erfið lífsbaráttan í harðbýlu umhverfi Færeyja er þrástef í verkum Mikines. Grindadráp, hefð í eyjunum allt frá því á 9. öld er þær byggðust, var eitt helsta viðfangsefni hans. Málverk hans eru gjarnan afar expressjónísk að gerð; þar sjást kraftmiklar myndir sem byggjast upp í kringum samspil hvassra horna: spjót, bátar, trylltir hvalir og sjómenn, gagndrepa af sláturroða.     Sámal Joensen-Mikines is a pioneering figure in the art history of the Faroe Islands as he was the first Faroe Islander to study at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. Despite his exposure to the cosmopolitan milieu of the Danish capital, Mikines centered his life’s work on his place of origin: the island Mikines, now called Mykines, from which he ultimately took his name. Early in his career Mikines was moved by the expressionist aspects in the work of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch and indeed themes of death, suffering, and despair are common to the work of both artists. As a young man, Mikines saw the death of two siblings and his father, as well as many members of his community, whose livelihoods were tied to the mercy of the sea. Like Munch, Mikines turned to the canvas to express sorrow. The human struggle for survival in the harsh and unforgiving environment of the Faroe Islands, an isolated archipelago in the north Atlantic, is a recurring theme in Mikines’s work. The killing of pilot whales, the grindadráp, meaning “pilot whale killing” – an indigenous tradition dating back to the early settlement of the islands in the 9th century – became a primary subject. The paintings are often highly expressionist in their execution, with dynamic compositions structured around the interplay of sharp angles: spears, boats, frenzied whales, and fishermen, all seen against the saturated red of the bloody slaughter.