Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut

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Chesley Flowers, “The George River Herd,” 1995-1996

wood and antler, 48” x 48” (The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, Memorial University Collection; photo by Ned Pratt Photography

The Winnipeg Art Gallery’s curatorial lens has zoomed in on the importance of the Indigenous voice over the last year. Thoughtful and powerful, this latest show, SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut, tells the story of the visual culture of Labrador’s Nunatsiavut community, the world’s most southerly Inuit.

Largely excluded from the popularity Inuit art and artists have enjoyed since the 1950s, this community built a rich artistic voice and incredible creative scene with minimal resources, funding and publicity. SakKijâjuk, which means “to be visible” in the Nunatsiavut dialect of Inuktitut, is curated by Heather Igloliorte, an Inuk scholar and professor of Aboriginal art history at Concordia University in Montreal. The show, on view until Oct. 14, honours this unique culture, allowing viewers to see different – and amazing – aspects of Inuit art.

Viewers will experience the exhibition differently depending how they enter. While this is true for any show, it’s critical here to the context through which the work is read. The main entrance leads through history via the work of elders, while starting at the other end of the show’s two galleries introduces the work of emerging artists first. Both paths reveal connections the community has within itself.

Starting with a section of work by the elders, which naturally leads into pieces by the trailblazers, it’s clear that artists from this region have a distinct voice within the larger Inuit art community. A thread of rebellion runs through some 85 works in the show, both in the choice of materials and the subject matter.

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Billy Gauthier, “Song from the Spirit World,” no date

caribou and moose antler, serpentine, 15” x 13” x 7” (Collection of Grenfell Campus, Memorial University; photo by Ned Pratt Photography)

Artists in Nunatsiavut, which includes a range of Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems both above and below the tree line, use diverse materials. The carved wood in Chesley Flowers’ sculptural installation, The George River Herd, is a point of authentic independence. Using wood and antler, he gives the region a voice of its own, particularly through the soft fur-like grooves on the backs of caribou seemingly plucked from migration.

Preceded by a selection of textile works and expressively carved stone pieces by other elder artists, Shirley Moorhouse's striking and deeply abstracted mixed-media wall hangings reach around the bend of the gallery with their ethereal and silent stories. Serpentine, stealite, marble and anorthosite shine through many of the carved works. Maria Merkuratsuk’s glistening ruby fur boots (My Father’s Pattern) shine out near the bend.

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John Terriak, “Sea Light (Oil Lamp),” 2015

soapstone with cotton wick, 4” x 21” x 16” (Collection of the artist)

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Garmel Rich, “Basket with Lid,” 1999

grass, 3.5” x 4.7” x 4.7” (Collection of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada)

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The new generation of artists also honours the past. Playful and rich, the Nalujuit Night photographs by Jenny Williams invite viewers to an evening where dark spirits rise from a deep, dark sea. Jason Shiwak’s Sacrilege is a horrifying drawing that depicts the effects of Christianity on the community. Inez Shiwak offers a digitally and aurally layered look at the loss of language in her video, Where Have the Voices Gone?

This honoured understanding of tradition ensures there’s no shortage of captivating works in SakKijâjuk, which originated at The Rooms, the provincial art gallery in St. John’s, Nfld. The show skilfully exposes brilliant facets of Nunatsiavut’s art in the context of the Canadian art scene. Viewers can expect to feel awe as they gain new awareness. ■

SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut is on view at the Winnipeg Art Gallery from May 26 to Oct. 14, 2018