Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum announced Maritea Dæhlin’s first major solo presentation, A-FI-SA. But it might not be tomorrow, at Nordover Art Center in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

For her exhibition, Dæhlin has created the immersive moving image installation A-FI-SA, which takes the viewer on a meditative journey between Longyearbyen, Svalbard and San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. With transgenerational memory at its heart, the exhibition explores ritual, place and identity, and asks whether it is possible to find healing and playful connections to the past and future through the interconnectedness of bodies, rituals and landscapes.

A-FI-SA is the artist’s attempt at embodying a language that was never learned, but that is still carried. Through the work, the spoken and bodily gestures embody a complexity which make tangible some of the multiple ways of being a part of the African diaspora.

Generational perspectives are important to Dæhlin, a third generation artist who grew up between Mexico and Norway, with family from Cameroon. Her daughter appears in central moments of the moving image installation and installed photographs. Together and separately, the mother and daughter occupy space with their bodies, play, gaze and actions, in ways that challenge normative assumptions about identity and landscape along a north-south axis.

At 78 degrees north, Longyearbyen (Svalbard) is a Norwegian sovereign territory which through the Svalbard treaty is the home of people from over 40 different nationalities. Dæhlin’s residency at Artica Svalbard during 2023 resulted in meetings, ideas and new material which were channelled into A-FI-SA. Juxtaposed with shots and embodied knowledge from Chiapas, Mexico, one of the places Dæhlin calls home, the contrasting landscapes are more than a shifting backdrop, and contribute as actors in and of themselves to pivoting perspectives that visitors of the work may encounter.

Dæhlin’s practice transcends disciplinary boundaries and exists as theatre productions, performance, sound and video installations, photography and writing. Her dynamic upbringing, navigating diverse cultures and languages, deeply influences her creative practice, providing a foundation for exploring themes of identity and multilingualism.

The artist’s production team includes: Pablo Rojo (Director of Photography), Dalia Huerta Cano (Film Editor), Soh Tokunaga (Costumes Svalbard), Truls Hannemyr (Sound Design), Ursula Lascurain (Production Manager Mexico), Tone Kittelsen (Assistant Svalbard) and Elisabeth Gmeiner (Producer). In addition to the artist, A-FI-SA features: Nina (daughter), Rafiki, Jenny Calderón, and Medhin Tewolde Serrano.

A twin tour of the exhibition in Norway's North (Bodø) and South (Oslo) will follow in 2026, when the exhibition is presented synchroneously in Oslo Kunstforening and Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum Bodø, both opening in September of 2026.

The exhibition's curator is Liv Brissach, Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum.
The presentation in Oslo Kunstforening is co-curated with Elisabeth Byre, Director at Oslo Kunstforening.