Sedna, Viking battle ship among contemporary Inuit art at Vaughan City Hall

Artists featured in facingNORTH exhibition all have work in National Gallery of Canada collection

Yorkregion.com
July 15, 2019
Dina Al-Shibeeb

The facingNORTH exhibition of three contemporary Native artists not only engages the senses with beauty and sophistication, but each piece teaches modern-day Canadians, especially newcomers, of this country’s rich history.

The sophisticated soapstone sculptures by Abraham Ruben with obvious imprints of historical interaction with the Vikings, the finely crafted haunting yet intoxicating shamanic pieces by Billy Merkosak from whale bone or the elaborate wool duffles and cotton embroidery of childhood memories by Irene Avaalaaqiaq all work toward one common theme.

This theme is the transcendence of oral history into contemporary Canadian art.

“They are keeping alive an ephemeral oral tradition , this tradition is dying, we're losing that language, but they're keeping it alive in their art,” said Sharon Gaum-Kuchar, senior art curator and planner at Vaughan city hall's SLATE Atrium gallery.

“They're translating ancient oral tradition into contemporary context through their own interpretation of the art.”

The dhow is on until Dec. 24 and the pieces are on loan from the Kipling Gallery.

These artists all have their work shown in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

“They predate the Group of Seven. These are the original Canadian. They're significantly contributing to the Canadian art,” said Gaum-Kuchar. “They are significantly contributing to the Canadian art scene.”

Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature, Canada usually touts its Group of Seven artists known for the landscape paintings from 1920 to 1933.

In one piece by Ruben titled “Into Greenland Waters,” a sculpture of Sedna, the sea goddess and master of the animals, especially of the ocean in Inuit mythology, is seen carrying her back travellers on a boat rowing into eventually Greenland where they came into contact with the Vikings.

Over time, both the Inuit and the Vikings came to some accommodation and engaged in trade and communal hunting that benefited both.

While the Inuit realized they were better adapted to the Arctic life than the Vikings, mainly due to their hunting skills learned hundreds of years before from their ancestors in Alaska, there is still some Viking influence in the art.

“A lot of the mythologies that were part of the Viking tradition, the origin stories, the dragons, they were blended into this particular piece by the artist who takes those early mythologies,” said the curator Gaum-Kuchar.

Sharon was describing the Dragon Ship sculpture by Ruben, which shows a Viking battle ship with its sail emblazoned with dragon motif made ready for conquest. The sides of the ship are decorated with images of Odin in his many guises. Odin, the ruler of the Norse gods, was a wanderer and had shamanistic qualities.

Some pieces are also incorporating the raven, “considered to be very important to both cultures.”

The exhibition also has the ethereal and mystical work of Billy Merkosak, whose inspiration stems from local archeological artifacts and revered stories of the past recounted by the elders.

Since the Inuit live in a very harsh climate and most of their survival is reflecting this environment, in one piece, onlookers can learn more about the past culture in an artistic way.

“You actually do have hunters from the past, who would drill little holes in their chin and insert horns,” the curator said. “So this is actually a reflection because they become one with the character, one with the animal, and it's a respectful thing as well.”

Gaum-Kuchar said Merkosak’s sculptures aren’t meant to look menacing. “It's very much in many cultures, especially in cave art, where you would see a lot of that sort of transformation as well. You're becoming one with the animals.”

Avaalaaqiaq’s work also depicts transformations with nature but stemming from her childhood memories.

“So it's based on the traditional Inuits survival stories and mythologies, but she has concocted them in a myth meets reality sort of world that only exists in her imagination,” the curator said.

The exhibition of these artists work will continue to be showcased till Dec. 24.

Those interested to buy any of these artwork should contact the Kipling Gallery where these art pieces are borrowed.

The curator, meanwhile, didn’t disclose which pieces are sold or their prices.