One fish, two fish: Nunavut artists chosen for group art project

Janet Brewster, left and Igah Hainnu work on a series of fish they are crafting outside the Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre in Iqaluit as part of a collaborative art project presented by the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association. NACA is hosting a conference this week in Iqaluit this week which wraps up Sunday, July 9—Nunavut Day. (PHOTOS BY BETH BROWN)

Pangnirtung’s Jaco Ishulutaq is one of four artists participating in a group sculpture project this week for the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association’s annual festival.

There’s something fishy going on at Iqaluit’s visitors centre—but no gutting required.

Four sculptors of all ages, skill levels and artistic styles have set up shop this week outside the Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre, and will be there showcasing their art through to July 9, Nunavut Day.

Artists Couzyn van Heuvelen, Igah Hainnu, Jaco Ishulutaq and Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster were chosen by the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association to take part in its new Nunavut Art Festival Residency.

The collaborative art project is meant to showcase the scope of artistic processes and styles found in Nunavut by giving the public a glimpse into what it might look like in an artist’s home studio.

As for what they are making—that’s the fishy part.

Tasked with formulating an idea for their collaborative project, the artists decided on a theme that reflected the city they were in—that is, Iqaluit, “the place of many fish.”

“We’re trying to come up with as many fish as we can,” said Hainnu, a Clyde River artist known for her carving, beadwork, tapestry and goose foot baskets.

Her work has been displayed at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, the Ottawa School of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

And despite a few days of rain, it’s going swimmingly.

The fish—carved out of locally sourced serpentine with power tools—include turbot, char, and even a little goldfish.

No two are the same, and they embody the styles of the four participating artists.

Ishulutaq, the master carver of the group, is pleased most with how the project is unfolding. The Pangnirtung artist is hoping that the public venue will help inspire a younger generation of carvers, he told Nunatsiaq News during a July 6 interview, with translation help from Hainnu.

Ishulutaq, who is in his 60s, has been carving since he was 16. He works in antler, ivory, whalebone, and soapstone, and his works have been exhibited by Art Inuit Paris, Art Toronto, and the Venice Biennial, as well as the National Art Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

To enhance their collaborative and creative process, the artists have been gathering together, away from their outdoor workshop.

When the artists spoke with Nunatsiaq News, the quartet had just returned from a lunch of traditional food at Brewster’s home.

The Iqaluit artist, who is originally from Taloyoak, is known for her contemporary style and use of mixed media such as fur and paint, as well as stone.

She said the collaboration has been the most interesting part of the project.

“We were brought together by NACA because of all of our different styles and varying levels of experience,” with the idea that the group would learn and grow from each other, she said.

“It’s given me the opportunity to use some tools I’ve never used before,” said Brewster. “It’s really interesting to see what everyone else is doing, and how they interpret the fish that we are carving.”

The artists have yet to decide how they will mount their many fish, but they do plan to be finished by July 9 in time for Nunavut Day and a craft fair that marks the closing of NACA’s annual festival.