From the Arctic to Asia

DENISE RIDEOUT

IQALUIT — Picture it: Tokyo in September. Outside, cars and pedestrians hustle past the Canadian embassy in one of the world’s biggest cities. Inside, photographs of Inuit dog teams and snow-covered hills in Canada’s pristine Arctic hang on the wall.

That will be the scene in Tokyo, Japan next month when an exhibit of Inuit art and northern photographs goes on display in the gallery of the Canadian embassy.
In the limelight will be 22 photographs by David Pelly of Cambridge Bay and 20 sketches by artist Elsie Klengenberg of Holman, NWT.

Pelly’s photographs capture the people, landscape and lifestyle of the Arctic. Klengenberg’s collection of prints, called Uvajuq, depict an Inuit legend about the origin of death.

“It’s going to be a wonderful combination. They really fit well together,” Pelly said in a telephone interview from Cambridge Bay.

Pelly, a writer and photographer who has worked in the North for 20 years, will curate the exhibit.

He talks excitedly about the project.

“I’m privileged to be shown in that way, I’m privileged to have my work represent Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic, and I feel privileged to be accompanying the Uvajuq story.”

Pelly worked hard to get the Uvajuq prints shown internationally, writing letters to about 75 galleries, as well as Canadian embassies throughout Europe and Asia.

He got only one response: an enthusiastic yes from the embassy in Tokyo. “There’s an obvious interest in Japan for Canada’s North,” Pelly said.

Pelly said the embassy loved the Uvajuq prints, but the collection of 20 sketches was too small for the impressive-sized gallery. So they asked Pelly to send his photographs as well.

“It’s obviously a great opportunity for me as a photographer,” he said.

The photographs, gathered during his northern travels, feature a herd of muskoxen, seal hunters, Holman drum dancers, and portraits of Inuit, including three elders who provided the story of the Uvajuq legend.

“The series of photographs are inclined to give a feel of the land and the people,” Pelly explained.

This isn’t the first time Pelly and Klengenberg have collaborated to bring attention to the Uvajuq prints. Five years ago Klengenberg drew the prints for a film about the Inuit legend. Her artwork was then reprinted in a book edited by Pelly, called Uvajuq: the Origin of Death.

Klengenberg, a 54-year-old Inuit artist, worked on the Uvajuq prints for five months. When asked how she feels about having her work shown internationally, she chuckled and said: “I like it.”

If funding comes through, Klengenberg will travel to Tokyo for the opening night of the show, which will be attended by the Japanese prince and princess.
Benefits for Nunavut?

The exhibit will likely put the spotlight on Inuit, their art and the Canadian Arctic.
Pelly said he expects it will be a big event for the Japanese media.

He said it may even spur interest in people visiting Nunavut.

“There needs to be this kind of exposure in order to keep feeding the interest, which leads ultimately to tourism,” Pelly said.

“But that has not been my motive. This whole project has been motivated by cultural and artistic interests. If there happens to be some economic spin-offs, then that’s fine.”

The exhibit will open in Tokyo on Sept. 11 and run until the end of that month.