Award-winning Nunavik artist explores connection to land

This story was updated on Monday, March 3, 2025, at 1:45 p.m. ET.

Visual artist, filmmaker and writer asinnajaq, is gaining national recognition as one of the winners of the 2024 New Generation Photography Award.

“I’m really pleased to be able to share my work at the National Art Gallery and for this prize,” said asinnajaq, who goes by one name. “It feels incredible to be recognized, to have support, and to have people see something valuable, interesting and beautiful in my artwork.”

The New Generation Photography Award supports emerging Canadian artists working behind the camera. It includes a $10,000 cash prize and the opportunity to have a selection of the winning work displayed at the National Gallery of Canada this year.

The Inukjuak-born artist was raised in a family deeply engaged in storytelling and film, including father Jobie Weetaluktuk, who is a filmmaker.

Asinnajaq’s exhibition at the National Gallery, on display until June 1, includes a total of 12 photographs, a single large-scale image, and a video piece.

Among these works is holding piece, a short video created in collaboration with Sámi artist Sunna Nousuniemi. The film captures asinnajaq moving through and exploring the river Anárjohka, which forms part of the border between Finland and Norway.

The piece contains no dialogue, allowing the sound of running water to immerse viewers throughout the exhibition space.

Another featured work, timiga nunaga, was developed during a recent artist residency. This installation is presented in two parts.

The first part was a live performance that took place during the exhibition opening on Feb. 13, in which asinnajaq wore a piece of fabric while audience members were encouraged to produce quick sketches of the scene.

The second part consists of a photograph that serves as a reference to the live performance, preserving the moment beyond its initial presentation.

Also on display are 12 photographs titled composition a, which capture striking closeups of natural moments — a caribou spine decomposing into the ground, a waterhole filled with vibrant blue ocean water, and mosquitoes caught in a spider web.

“Taking photos is one of my favourite ways of engaging and looking while outside,” said asinnajaq, who is now based in Montreal. “Just looking through the camera lens is one of the ways that I’m also looking at details, playing with form and shape.”

Beyond the NGPA, asinnajaq has received numerous accolades, including a nomination for Best Short Documentary at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards for the short film Three Thousand. In 2020, asinnajaq was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award and served as a juror for the award in 2024.

“One of the important things for me is really advocating for how bountiful my homelands are. That’s really important to me in my career. My family has had countless generations live because of our land — that’s not possible if they aren’t generous,” asinnajaq said.

Audiences will have the chance to experience asinnajaq’s lens-based storytelling, which offers an intimate and powerful look at Inuit life, history, and the land.

In a statement on the National Gallery of Canada website, asinnajaq expresses hope that visitors will witness “the space of exchange between the land and me, seeing the works as only ever being completed in the act of engagement.”