Arviat man’s illustration wins $5,000, featured on phone books

An illustration of modern Inuit life has earned artist Nooks Lindell a $5,000 prize and a spot on the cover of Northwestel’s new phone books.

“I was very excited,” he said of the achievement when reached last week by phone.

Lindell is depicted in the illustration’s foreground riding an ATV, a large caribou head mounted on the front of the machine. Northwestel announced March 28 that the piece, entitled Wheeling, had won the company’s 45^th annual directory cover art contest.

This piece, entitled “Wheeling,” appears as the cover art on the newest edition of Northwestel’s Nunavut directory. (Illustration courtesy of Nooks Lindell)

“It’s kind of funny thinking about my face being in everybody’s house in Nunavut,” he said.

The picture, according to Lindell, is a snapshot of the fall caribou hunt around Arviat. He said he wanted to capture the joy of it, the colours, and the little details like “extra-wide mud flaps.”

Lindell also said he wanted to highlight Inuk innovation, like the wooden racks many people build onto their vehicles. ATVs are important to Inuit, he said, and a lot of effort is put into customizing and personalizing them.

“I wanted to celebrate that, because I find it so fascinating,” he said. “Your sleds are built in your way, your family’s way. So it kind of becomes a part of your identity and personality.”

Lindell described his art as a mix of tradition and modernity. But he called tradition a “tricky” word, explaining that it implies Inuit are living in the past.

“It’s not so much tradition, it’s how we live,” Lindell said.

“With the addition of vehicles and rifles [into Inuit life], we adapted. So I guess I’m bringing attention to that. Inuit weren’t always a certain way, we’re not all the same. Every region is different, every family has a different way of doing things.”

He said art has helped him get through hard times. He moved to Ottawa when he was seven years old and he went on to bounce from place to place, living in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit.

His father passed away when Lindell was eight years old.

After his father’s passing, he said art became part of his grieving process, though he didn’t understand it at the time.

“I think it was a way to escape into a different world,” he said. “Where I wasn’t so sad and in pain.”

Lindell, 34, said he started drinking and doing drugs at a young age and continued until his recovery about 10 years ago.

Nooks Lindell crafts a traditional knife called a pana, one of the many handcrafted items he makes in his workshop. (Photo courtesy Nooks Lindell)

It was around this time that he, in anticipation of his first child, moved back to Arviat.

Since returning to Nunavut, he’s started his own company, Hinaani Design, that sells manufactured clothing and handmade products like ulus and jewelry made from salvaged material.

Lindell is also working as assistant costume designer on the North of North television show filming in Iqaluit.

“Growing up, you are always told you shouldn’t care what you wear, style-wise,” he said. “But I have always been fascinated by how things look, as well as functionality. I wanted to show that off, plus show off the land.”

Of his art, he said if there is a message this is it: “We’re here, we’re thriving and we are doing it in style.”