Shuvinai Ashoona: Life & Work

Born in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) in 1961, Shuvinai Ashoona is now one of Canada’s most notable artists, whose work has been celebrated domestically as well as in Australia, Europe, and the United States. Her highly imaginative work combines aspects of traditional Inuit culture and mythology with influences derived from the non-Arctic world.

 

Hailing from a long line of graphic artists, including her grandmother Pitseolak Ashoona (c. 1904–1983) and her award-winning cousin Annie Pootoogook (1969–2016), Shuvinai took up the mantel in the mid-1990s, producing detailed, primarily monochromatic drawings that depict the natural landscapes and traditions of the North. However, her attentions soon shifted to fantastical creatures, dreamlike landscapes, and aerial-perspective representations of a global community, expressed in vivid colour.

 

Shuvinai Ashoona: Life & Work delves into the world of an artist whose rich graphic imagery conveys an intricate and textured personal vision. Using coloured pencil and pen and ink to render dense, highly imaginative drawings, Shuvinai creates art that reflects the intersection of values between the traditional and the contemporary in the North.

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