Laponian area - a world heritage site #02 Lars Pirak
1,614 views · Published 11 January 2012 · 2:49 · Indexed 8 October 2026
Channel: screenshot · 2012 · Travel & Events
Sápmi, the land of the reindeer, has many faces. In the lower areas pine and Norway spruce grow, at a higher altitude there are the birch. From north to south there is a huge mountain range, mostly too cold for trees. It is a glacial area, but there are reindeer everywhere. These are domesticated, the cattle of the Sámi. There are no real wild reindeer left anymore, though there is one group left on a peninsula in Russia. Modern times do not pass by the Sápmi, one click and you are standing in the middle of today's reality. That reality is that a part of Sápmi is now on the world heritage list. Laponia is the name. The young Lars Pirak learned how to draw and paint in the Sámi school . He became a famous artist with exhibitions all over the world, from New York to Tokyo, from Sydney to India and from Jokkmokk to Arvidsjaur. The Saltripan are Pirak's most well known sculptures. These white salt cellars are made from reindeer antler in the shape of a ptarmigan.The bowl forms the body of the ptarmigan and the spoon its tail. He was also a natural storyteller, the story of his mother Kristina who used a "nappi" --a self made jug- to milk reindeers. "I will never forget that" he tells us, "just like the rest of those other fascinating skills learned in the wilderness." Mother Kristina looks to be in agreement with everything. 70.000 Sámi still live in the beautiful landscape of northern Scandinavia, spread across four countries: Norway Sweden, Finland and Russia. They themselves do not recognize political boundaries and refer to their land as Sápmi. Officially designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, this site is to be safeguarded for the future as a testimony to its enduring past. Info HighRes imagery: http://www.stockshot.nl/ © All Rights reserved by Fauna Film B.V. http://www.faunafilm.nl
