Irene Avaalaaqiaq "Myth and Reality"
This event has ended.
At Canadian Embassy Gallery, B2
Media: Crafts
Irene Avaalaaqiaq is one of Canada’s most prominent Inuit artists and a leading member of the prolific artistic community of Baker Lake, Nunavut, the only major inland Arctic settlement located 250 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. Avaalaaqiaq has enjoyed a distinguished thirty year career as a distinctive creator of drawings, prints, and sculpture, although she is best known for her remarkable wall hangings which reveal a rich heritage of spirit and shamanistic imagery. She is deeply committed to preserving Inuit culture and making it accessible to an international audience. Her world view is derived from an oral tradition and expressed through the manipulation of bold shapes in bright contrasting colours.
Born in the Kazan River area of Nunavut, Avaalaaqiaq spent the first 13 years of her life in
relative isolation. She was orphaned early in her childhood and then raised by her grandparents. Her grandmother taught her how to sew caribou clothing and, after moving to Baker Lake in 1958, she used this skill to create wall hangings.
In 1999, Avaalaaqiaq was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Guelph for her contribution to the development of Inuit art and for her leadership role in Baker Lake. This touring exhibition organized by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre features wall hangings from the Art Centre’s internationally recognized Inuit art collection that has toured Canada, the United States, and eight European countries. The accompanying publication Irene Avaalaaqiaq: Myth and Reality was written by Judith Nasby and published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Schedule
From 2006-12-12 To 2007-03-09
Closed December 25, January 1 and February 12
