Iggaaliniq (2019)
Cyanotype printed canvas, wood, nylon rope, rocks, with accompanying photobook and Super 8 film
A project by Attagoyuk Ilisavik students, Natalie Baird, and Jonny Lush, with knowledge-sharers Meeka Alivaktuk, Geetee Maniapik, and Jeanne Nakashuk; in collaboration with Spring Camp and Attagoyuk Ilisavik.
Iggaaliniq is a collaborative cyanotype printed tent, created by youth and knowledge-keepers at the 2019 Spring Camp outside of the remote community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Spring Camp is a 30+ year land and cultural programme for students (Gr.1 to Gr.12), designed to preserve traditional skills, transfer knowledge from Elders to youth, and celebrate Inuit values. Iggaaliniq is an Inuktitut word for sunglasses tan. Sunglass tans are synonymous with spending time on the land – a mark of hours spent at the fishing lake, waiting for seal on the sea ice, or traveling on the land by snowmachine. While at Spring Camp, students took photographs and video documentation of the experience, capturing sunlight in the sensors of digital cameras and the photo emulsion of Super 8 film. As students came and went from Spring Camp, they added images and stencils to a large collaborative cyanotype. As students noticed, in the cyanotype printing process, negatives created a “sunglass tan” on the tent – leaving white patterns against the Prussian-blue dye. The final tent Iggaaliniq is a gathering space and a reminder of treasured memories on the land.
With support from the Manitoba Arts Council.
