Abstract

This essey discusses the interconnections between art, human imagination and postcolonial critique in the context of northern Finland. The ‘North’ is conceived here as an imaginative region, a myth, characterized by the stereotypes attached to nature and non-civilization, constructed through various socio-cultural institutions, both in art and science. In the case of Finland, the stereotype of the ‘North’ is a cold, snowy wilderness with reindeer herding Saami people and blazing northern lights. For several centuries, various forms and types of art have functioned in order to mystify, exoticize and legitimize the hegemonic understanding about the ‘North’ as a periphery. However, during recent years several northern artists have started to contest prevailing conceptions and challenge the stereotypes and myths attached to northernness. What follows introduces examples from various forms of northern culture — including literature, design, music, paintings and films — through which the ‘North’ as a myth has been constructed, but also contested.