ᐊᑎᒌᑦ, ᓯᓚᐹᑦ Atigiit, Silapaat (2019-2020)

Part of Arctic: Culture and Climate, group exhibition, The British Museum, London, UK (October 22, 2020-February 21, 2021)

Washi, Seikosen washi, handmade South East Asian papers, sumi and oil-based ink, and forged iron (Baffin Island) ink, installation of ten collaborative garments, 2019–2020

A project by students of Attagoyuk Ilisavik and Peter Pitseolak School, Mary Alikatuktuk, Ooloosie Ashevak, Natalie Baird, Alexa Hatanaka, Flora Shum, Cie Taqiasuk and Nicotye Qimirpik, knowledge-sharers: Poisy Alogut, Ashoona Ashoona, Jesse Arnaqgaq, Adamie Ashevak, Mathewsie Ashevak, Amie Ishulutaq, Jaco Ishulutaq, Lasaloosie Ishulutaq, Maggie Lucy Kilabuk, Eena Kullualik, Siita Saila, Sarah Oshutsiaq, Elis Parr, Temela Pitsiulak, Patrick Thompson, Andrew Qappik, Madeleine Qumuatuq, Quvianaqtuliaq Taqaungai, Neevee Tapaungai and Julien Wallot-Beale—in collaboration with Pangnirtung Land and Climate Program, Pangnirtung District Education Authority, and Kinngait District Education Authority

Kinngait student lead artists: Moe Kelly, Kunu Pudlat 

Pangnirtung student lead artists: Damien Ishulutaq, Myra Young

Kinngait student participants: Aggiu Ashevak, Janine Manning, Annie Oshutsiaq, Christine Adamie, David Pudlat, Davidee Killiktee, Dennis Hayward, Iqaluk Ainalik, Iqaluk Quvianaqtuliaq, Ivan Koperqualuk, Johnny Samayualie, Lily Ashoona, Luke Jr Aningmiuq, Manumekalla Shaa, Mia Saffa Manning, Miazie Samayualie, Kilabuk Pitsiulak, Moosie Bell, Napatchie Pitsiulak, Ning Qavavau, Joanasie Atsiaq, Katsua Saila, Qavavau Mangitak, Saaki Nuna, Salomonie Ashoona and Tommy Quvianaqtuliaq.

Pangnirtung student Participants: Lorraine Akulukjuk, Benjamin Qaqqasiq, Sylvia Akalukjuk, Nigel Qumuatuq, Monica Veevee, Andrea Kullualik, Iris Soudluapik, Sheila Akulukjuk, Laura Nuvaqiq, Mikibi Nakashuk, Madison Alivaktuk, Eliyah Michael, Rhoda Nashalik, Moses Kooneeloosie, Douglas Michael, TerryLynn Keenainak, Nigel Evvik, Abigail Mosesee, Olivia Kilabuk, Joanne Nowdlak, Caitlyn Maniapik, Annie Ishulutaq, Joemie Michael and Stacey Alivaktuk

As part of ongoing collective Kinngarni Katujjiqatigiit and Embassy of Imagination (2014-2020)

The artists wish to acknowledge the support of: Peter Pitseolak School, Attagoyuk Ilisavik, Canada Council for the Arts, Kinngait District Education Authority, Pangnirtung District Education Authority, The Japanese Paper Place, Paperhouse Studio, Hamlet of Pangnirtung, Indigenous Services Canada, ARCTIConnexion, Canada Goose, and the Prairie Climate Centre.

Nakurmiik/ Thank you: Mary Pitseolak, Kathy Pelletier, Claude Constantineau, Kinngait Studios

 

Essay

Atigiit, Silapaat is an embodied response to climate change. The artistic process of creating the work is one of knowledge-sharing and solidarity; strengthening relationships through collective learning. Made collaboratively and inter-generationally by creators and knowledge-keepers from Kinngait and Pangnirtung and culturally diverse artists, the work prioritizes the perspectives of Inuit youth who will inherit and care for their homelands. The process of creating the work involved experiences on-the-land, including navigating the sea ice, to gain knowledge and to observe and record changes to the environment that effect livelihoods and cultural wellbeing. Atigiit, Silapaat builds on historical connections between Kinngait and Pangnirtung, which helped foster the development of printmaking, as well as more recent youth exchanges.

Atigiit are insulated, while silapaat are lighter, single-layer garments. This collective artwork was made by sewing Japanese paper,  washi, into Inuit silapaat and hanging the different silapaat together as a single installation. Each  silapaa was printed using relief as well as monoprinting processes that take relevant found objects and materials as a printing surface. The garments were made collaboratively across the communities, and in addition youth have made related printed, functional parkas. By this process, youth are simultaneously learning the skills to keep themselves warm on the land while learning to understand the land and ice, and to observe changes to support adaptation and resilience.

I feel it is important for kids to learn sewing, and enjoy it as I do, so that they can learn to provide warm clothing for themselves, their families, and earn income. It is important for kids to get out on the land and sea ice because it is part of Inuit culture. They need to learn by exploring the land. - Ooloosie Ashevak

The project combines Inuit garments with Japanese craft processes to reconnect youth to the roots and intertwined histories of Nunavut and Japanese printmaking, including the use of  washi. Kinngait (Cape Dorset) artists first began working with Japanese printmaking techniques in the mid-1950s and today printmaking remains a popular art form in Nunavut. There are five Inuit communities (including Pangnirtung) that are known for their prints across Canada and globally. Through printmaking, connections between Inuit and Japanese communities continue. In 2002, the Osaki family of papermakers visited Kinngait with the support of the Japanese Paper Place, Toronto. Atigiit, Silapaat acknowledges and nurtures this initial exchange by using the Osaki’s ‘Seikosen’  washi. The artwork engages the craft of momigami (starch-strengthened washi ), which was traditionally used in Japan to create garments, to visually reference the translucent seal gut that is used by Inuit for traditional garments and shelters. Sewn momigami  expands printmaking into multi-dimensional sculptures that communicate the relationship between land, families, the elements, our bodies, and community care expressed through sewing for and with others. Paper – in particular east and southeast Asian handmade paper, a material that Nunavummiut artists and participating artists use to record personal, communal, and generational stories and experiences – is also threatened by a changing environment. Atigiit, Silapaat highlights the importance of climate stability to sustain culture and carry forward vital heritage in east and southeast Asia, and Inuit Nunangat (the collective name for Inuit territories in Canada), but also how traditional practices, connected to place, symbiotically support healthy land and communities. The paper silapaat demonstrate the delicate yet durable nature of washi , symbolizing the environment upon which we depend. They are an affirmative gesture that embodies an interconnected, global, transcultural action, akin to what we all must realize to act on climate change.

Creating collaborative artworks is part of a larger, long-term process that fosters reciprocal relationships with Nunavut communities. Both the process and final artworks support ongoing initiatives (Pangnirtung Land and Climate Program and the Kinngait DEA’s Land  Program) that engage youth in local ways of learning, complementary to long-standing knowledge sharing through familial, community, and kinship ties.

“I love going out on the land and sea ice because I love fishing and learning new skills. It makes me feel like a true Inuk.” Kunu Pudlat, 14

“For us inuit sea ice is very important because sea ice is our highway and on our highways we get our food, we go hunting and we have fun. The stories of our culture are told by elders and those stories connect the land, the sea and the ice.” Moe Kelly, 15

Through artistic process we strive to build connections by collectively embarking on an innovative and cross-cultural process to produce an outcome, reflective of multiple voices, that is only possible with collaborative efforts. We hope this artwork honours the actions on climate change that have long been led by Inuit communities, informing and inspiring the international public. Global decisions and industry practices continue to threaten the breadth of human expression and ecosystems. As we collectively face an uncertain climate future, we need an immediate change of institutional power and accountability. Through heartfelt, collective efforts, Atigiit, Silapaat aims to contribute to the empowerment of youth, as their generation inherits the burden of a climate changed – calling for reciprocal, global action in solidarity during this time of transformation.

“Art is important, it’s a way of telling our history, and how it’s still relevant today. For our young people, it’s a way of communicating what they cannot express in words. It’s a tool they could use. By using different techniques, maybe they could grasp something, hold on to something, so they have a vision for tomorrow.” spoken by Madeleine Qumuatuq, Pangnirtung artist, part of an interview for “Atigiit, Silapaat”.

Process film

ᐊᑎᒌᑦ, ᓯᓚᐹᑦ, 2019-2020