Attributed to Bobby Quppaapik Tarkirk, this delicate work shows birds carved in soapstone and serpentine and perched on a caribou antler. Probably Bobby Quppaapik Tarkirk (1934-2000), Untitled (Birds in a Tree), late 1960s-early 1970s. MMFA, gift of the Museum of Inuit Art, Toronto. Photo: MMFA, Christine Guest
Polar Journal AG invites you on a virtual tour of the exhibition ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik exhibition, which opened last November at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
On November 8, a permanent exhibition devoted to Inuit art opened at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). Called ᐆᒻᒪᖁᑎᒃ uummaqutik (essence of life in Inuktitut), the exhibition was conceived with Inuk artist and curator Asinnajaq.
Over the next five years, the gallery will present some 120 works in rotation, produced by 70 Inuit artists from Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. The works will be selected from the hundreds of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs and textiles that the museum counts.
Between resolutely contemporary and more classical works, the exhibition invites visitors to meditate on the rhythms of life specific to the circumpolar territories that make up Inuit Nunangat, the territory of the Inuit in Canada.
For those who won’t be able to make it to Canada, Polar Journal AG invites you to take a virtual tour of this exhibition, featuring some of the works currently on display.
“Every corner of the earth is habitable,” boasts the stone hugging the lichen. All it takes to make a life (or a home?) is creativity.” In this work, painted in acrylic on canvas, the Nunatsiavut artist depicts the lichen up close, giving it the air of tundra photographed by satellite.
Jessica Winters (1996-), Lichen (Hopedale 1), 2023, acrylic on canvas. MMFA, purchase, the Paradis family fund in memory of Claude Paradis. Photo: MMFA, Jean-François Brière
The movements of human beings and machines trace strange lines in the snow. Beacons are then formed in an immaculate white landscape, represented here by the artist in an inkjet print.
Eldred Allen (1978-), Support, 2021. MMFA, purchase, William Brymner Memorial Fund. Photo: MMFA
“What is a name? Names have the immense power to unite us with our families. Past, present and future.” In this print, the Nunavummiut artist depicts the patronymic not only as a heritage, but also as part of a family, community and cultural lineage.
Françoise Oklaga (1924-1991), Naming the Children after Grandmother, 1986. MMFA, gift of Moira Swinton and Bernard Léveillé in memory of George Swinton. Public Trustee of Nunavut, estate of Françoise Oklaga. Photo: MMFA, Jean-François Brière
Drawings and prints are an integral part of Inuit art. Prints from Cape Dorset in particular have travelled the world, enabling the public to discover masterpieces such as Kenojuak Ashevak’s famous Enchanted Owl. Here, the work returns to the real origins in a composition executed with infinite delicacy by artist Qavavau Manumie.
Qavavau Manumie (1958-), Untitled, 1996-1997. MMFA, purchase, Joy Sedgewick Shannon Memorial Fund. Photo: MMFA, Jean-François Brière
Nunavimmiut artist Niap depicts kakiniit, the traditional tattoos usually worn by Inuit women. In this work, painted in watercolor and ink, the tattoos are embroidered with thread, as if to accentuate this identity trait rooted in tradition and community.
Niap (1986-), Beauty in Our Lines, 2019. MMFA, purchase, Serge Desroches Bequest. Photo: MMFA, Christine Guest
On this clay vase, the artist has depicted his family. Each face, printed with the thumb, has a different expression. This family portrait, executed on a malleable element derived from the earth, is a symbol of the bond between the artist and both his family and the earth.
Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona (1986-), Ilakka (My Extended Family), 2023. MMFA, purchase, the Frothingham Bursary Fund. Photo: MMFA, Jean-François Brière
This work, by Inuk artist Couzyn van Heuvelen, has a modern look, yet it represents an object of millennia-old origins, the qulliq. Originally, this oil lamp, which has become symbolic of Inuit culture, was hollowed out of soapstone. The artist chose to sculpt it in glass, creating the first work to enter the museum’s collection.
Couzyn van Heuvelen (1987-), Qulliq, 2024, glass, MMFA, purchase, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 Fund. Photo: MMFA, Jean-François Brière
We often forget that clothing is far from trivial. It can convey a strong symbolism, as in this work by artist Siku Allooloo. The seams, as resistant as they are benevolent, protect the wearer as well as the knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, that went into making the garment.
Siku Allooloo (1986-), Sapajuji (Protector), 2021. MMFA. Photo: Frank Piccolo, courtesy of Art Windor-Essex
The centerpiece of the exhibition, this work by Mattiusi Iyaituk is symbolic in more ways than one. The artist’s mother was blind. In her stories, she often evoked mermaids. Her son created this work by grafting a mermaid face onto a motorcycle, along with caribou antlers and road signs.
Mattiusi Iyaituk (1950-), Étienne Guay, Iqualuullamiluuq (First Mermaid) That Can Manoeuvre on the Land (Sidecar), 2016. ᐊᕙᑕᖅ ᐱᐅᓯᑐᖃᓕᕆᕕᒃ, collection of Avataq Cultural
Institute. Photo: Marie-Christine Couture, 2018
Ancestor, Untitled (Child Watching Mother Cut a Fish), 1950. MMFA, purchase, William Gilman Cheney Bequest. Photo: MMFA, Jean-François Brière
Lucassie Echalook (1942-), Untitled (Four Women Covering a Kayak with Seal Skin), MMFA, gift of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. Photo: MMFA, Christine Guest
Ennutsiak (1896-1967), Untitled (Women Preparing Food), mid-1960s. MMFA, gift of the Museum of Inuit Art, Toronto. Photo: MMFA, Christine Guest
Find out more at https://www.mbam.qc.ca/fr/uummaqutik/
Mirjana Binggeli, Polar Journal AG
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