For many years, we have come to expect beautiful, lyrical compositions from Ohotaq Mikkigak. As an artist, Ohotaq has completed hundreds of drawings in a realistic style that is informed by his knowledge of the land and his experience of living in Cape Dorset. These endearing drawings have a strong design sense, usually feature birds and people, and have often … Read More
William Noah Solo Show
As a mature and established artist, William Noah provides perspective and life experience through his work. At first glance the Baker Lake artist’s drawings and paintings depict vast landscapes and camp settlements in the Arctic. Peel back the textured layers and pertinent and political messages are revealed. “I draw my true life,” Noah says of his work. The beautiful rolling … Read More
Ningiukulu Teevee: New Drawings
This has been a very productive year for Ningeokuluk Teevee. She expanded her creative pursuits, writing and illustrating her first children’s book, Alego. This is a beautiful story that invites readers to join Alego, a young Inuit girl, on her adventures. This publication is already receiving praise and Teevee is nominated for the 2009 Governor General’s Literary award in the … Read More
Samonie Toonoo: Scream
Edvard Munch’s well-known—and much written about— painting, The Scream, was created in 1893, and is widely considered to represent the universal anxiety of modern man. It depicts a screaming figure with a skull-like face, who appears to be in the throes of an unknown emotional crisis. This image is now one of the most familiar in art history, having been … Read More
Shuvinai Ashoona: Drawings
Cape Dorset, known as Kinngait in Inuktitut, is located near the southern tip of Baffin Island. A recent study made the remarkable discovery that Kinngait is Canada’s most artistic municipality, with nearly one-quarter of its labour force engaged in art making. Most Canadians will never visit this remote community, but the work of its artists is held by the Museum … Read More
First Solo Show: Tim Pitsiulak
Tim Pitsiulak proudly identifies himself as a hunter and an artist. This same combination has informed works of art by generations of Inuit artists. However, as all aspects of life in the Arctic, the face of both of these activities has changed greatly in recent times. Modern boats and motors, rifles, and skidoos are a part of today’s hunting life. … Read More
Qavavau Manumie: A Dialogue with the Artist
I first encountered the work of Cape Dorset artist, Qavavau Manumie, in the early 1990s when I saw a remarkable image entitled, NASA Graveyard. This drawing, done in 1989, was the first truly contemporary Inuit work I had seen in that it depicted the televised launch (and subsequent crash) of the Challenger at Kennedy Space Center. The concept of an … Read More
Kigusiuq and her Contemporaries
(Digitized catalogue below) A Distinguished artist and a notable colourist, Janet Kigusiuq is renonwned for her graphic compositions, her tactile interpretations of Arctic landscape, and narratives that share her experience of living in the North. She often depicted the land around her as well as the stories she remembered hearing throughout her childhood. The late Kigusiuq established an important place … Read More
William Noah: My Stories
William Noah is no stranger to art. Over thirty years of printmaking, painting, sculpting, and graphic design distinguish him as an established artist. Baker Lake residents also know him for his vast contributions to the community. As part of his comprehensive experience, Noah has worked on boards of councils, served as mayor of Baker Lake, and directed the Inuit Broadcasting … Read More
Shuvinai Ashoona: Time Interrupted
(Digitized catalogue below) Shuvinai Ashoona is not an emerging artist; her detailed ink drawings of dense landscapes have intrigued viewers for many years. In earlier works, domestic items and interwoven topographical elements lived side by side in a relationship of rich detail made possible through ink stippling and cross-hatching. Today, Shuvinai continues to work with an intense attention to detail, … Read More
Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq: Ancient Rhythms
Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq is a young woman carrying on tan ancient tradition through modern materials. Inuit textile arts evolved out of the historical need for carefully fashioned skin clothing and camp equipment sewn by women. Since the 1960s the women of Baker Lake have translated these ancient skills into works of art, applying decorative felt forms and surface stitching to … Read More
Pitseolak Ashoona: The Pictures
The occasion of the book launch for the revised edition of Pitseolak: Pictures Out of My Life provides the perfect opportunity to revisit the oeuvre of one of the most talented, and beloved, of contemporary Inuit artists. Born in 1907/8, Pitseolak Ashoona’s experience of life was similar to many of those of her generation. Her earlier lifestyle in the traditional … Read More