David Ruben Piqtoukun

Inuit artist circles through time and space.

by

Inuit artist David Ruben Piqtoukun’s solo exhibition, Radical Remembrance, on view until June 25, is presented not as a linear narrative but as a conversation between sculptures across time. With some 50 works thoughtfully organized by curator Wanda Nanibush in three connected rooms at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the show invites visitors to meander, circling to and fro.

One section gathers sculptures that refer to traditional Inuit stories while touching on contemporary concerns, from urbanization to climate change and ecological anxiety. Many come with Piqtoukun’s characteristic touch of humour, as in Thar She Blows! A blue streak, it is suspended in midair like a breaching whale. The vibrant colour, like the sculptural form, resembles gushing water. It was made from a whale’s jawbone.

Born in 1950 in Paulatuk, N.W.T., a coastal hamlet some 400 kilometres east of Inuvik, Piqtoukun’s childhood was stolen by the residential school system. His practice has become a process of reclaiming traditional knowledge and creating his own worldview. He began learning Inuit stories in 1975, a few years after he first exhibited his art. Over five decades, his work has been included in shows across Canada and internationally.

Piqtoukun’s sculptures connect with the traditional stories denied him as a child, and the materials he works with – commonly stone and metal – connect to the land he knows, both Inuit Nunangat, the Arctic homeland, and the area around Plainfield, a rural community north of Belleville, Ont., where he now lives. He was honoured last year with a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. 

Piqtoukun says he and Nanibush collaborated on selecting work from across his career, weighing factors like scale, detail and each piece’s overall importance to his practice. Nanibush chose about 90 per cent of the works, and the rest were ones he wanted to include. Working with her, he says, was “an experience of patience and determination and hope.” 

“In the end result, we were happy to include such a wonderful selection,” he says, noting they were guided by thinking of themselves as if they were gallery visitors and considering how they would respond. “We threw everything in, including the kitchen sink, to make sure.” 

Piqtoukun’s work, like all Inuit sculpture, is meant to be experienced in the round, and vitrines are arranged so visitors can move around them to find new perspectives. Some pieces are clustered in conversation with other works of a similar theme, speaking to one another, at times seemingly watched over by larger sculptures. 

Shaman’s Trip to the Moon, 1996, creates a hybrid narrative by bridging the story of a shaman’s transformation into a bird with the idea of travelling through the Internet. The work, which incorporates a carved bird within the plastic shell of a desktop computer, acknowledges digital technology’s ability to create new pathways, while centring foundational Inuit knowledge.

Some works directly reference Inuit stories. Shaman, from 1989, and Shaman Muskox Transformation, from 2010, are made from the same materials and offer similar perspectives. They stand together, conversing across time. Recent works, Raven Steals the Moon, 2021, and People of the Midnight Sun, 2017, oversee the display cases, bringing together two stories, one from the past and one contemporary. In a sense, they reflect the dual realities of Inuit life today.

Visitors can also ponder the evolution of Piqtoukun’s recent work. Centrally placed is a tableau, Escape the Moon, 2020, composed of various small stone figures: two humans, a two-headed animal, a burly dog, seals and other creatures, along with a sled. They are clustered around a metal staircase, which morphs into a ladder that climbs up to a large disc of white alabaster, the moon. One side of the polished stone, which is encircled by black metal, has striations that look like craters. Nearby are other works that create new worlds, including the musical cliffs of Forte, 2011, and the playful Baby Brontosaurus, 2022.

Radical Remembrance allows visitors to explore Piqtoukun’s dynamic and meticulous efforts, evoking not only the expansiveness of his evolving career, but also the depth of individual works. It is a rich and varied journey. ■

Radical Remembrance: The Sculptures of David Ruben Piqtoukun at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto from Jan. 21 to June 25, 2023. 

PS: Worried you missed something? See previous Galleries West stories here or sign up for our free biweekly newsletter.

AGO Logo.jpg

Art Gallery of Ontario

317 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1G4

416-979-6601

Visit Website

Tues to Sun 10:30 am - 5:30 pm, Wed till 8:30 pm