Victoria Mamnguqsualuk
Near Garry Lake, Nunavut, 1930 – Baker Lake, Nunavut, 2016Active in Baker Lake
Untitled
1970
Coloured pencil, graphite
48.4 x 61 cm
Gift of Professor Sandra Freedman Witelson, inv. 2008.285
Graphic Arts
Victoria Mamnguqsualuk’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in the Inuit oral tradition, particularly scenes from the unikkaaqtuat, a body of stories passed down from generation to generation. This drawing depicts a scene from the popular misadventures of Kiviuq, an extremely clever, yet humorously flawed shaman. Mamnguqsualuk created many works about Kiviuq’s misadventures, and she returns to this scene in many of her drawings, prints and textile works. Here, Kiviuq finds himself in hostile territory, in a community filled with enemies who want him dead. Pursued by a man riding Aloola, a powerful two-headed dog, Kiviuq prepares to shoot an arrow into Aloola’s ear, thereupon successfully firing his bow and making his escape. Mamnguqsualuk explained that the emphasis on traditional narratives in her work had been heavily inspired by childhood memories of falling asleep while listening to her grandmother recount these stories.
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