Greenlandic Inuk artist Ivínguak´ Stork Høegh’s bold and colourful work, which often explores themes of fantasy and Indigenous Futurism, was chosen as the cover artwork for our latest issue, Arctic Indigenous Futurisms. Høegh further engages with the topic of Indigenous Futurisms with this original three-work series.
Høegh’s digital collages are eye catching not only because of their bright colours but also because of their skillfulness. We see the influence of her studies of colour theory at the Det Jyske Kunstakademi in Aarhus, Denmark; before she delved into the world of digital art, she studied illustration, watercolour and acrylic painting, as well as ceramics. Høegh is adept at reworking archival photographs from the early twentieth century in Photoshop to form sharply focused digital artwork. The crisp layers on every level of her collages create a rich visual experience with each piece. Much of her digital collage work falls under what she calls “Arctic exotic” themes, where she juxtaposes archival images of Kalaallit against tropical backgrounds or alongside animals from the African savanna, such as elephants and zebras, and exemplifies the exotification of Arctic and African peoples and lands within the Western mindset.



Ivínguak´ Stork Høegh Dreaming of Beach (2024) Digital art
The Arctic exotic theme is present in this piece, Dreaming of Beach (2024). In this work, we see an archival image of two Inuit youth dropped into a tropical background, which is overlaid within a glowing, multicoloured triangle atop an image of the Arctic Ocean. Tropical flowers similar in shape and hue to tundra fireweed decorate the bottom. When asked about why she combines geographically opposing themes, she noted that “ever since I was little, I thought, ‘Oh why do I live here in the cold? Why can’t I just go down to the beach and go swimming all day?’”



Ivínguak´ Stork Høegh Drink Water (2024) Digital art
Høegh’s eye for composition is exquisitely precise, as seen in Drink Water (2024), which is a lesson in texture and contrast. From the uniformity of the gold foil in the top third of the image and the black-and-white tiles in the bottom third, our eyes are drawn to the centre, where a woman and child stand in the foreground of a monolithic iceberg, rendered in dynamic shades of tide-pool green. The piece feels dreamlike and invites a closer look by creating a feeling of unease, perhaps due to the crispness of both the foreground and the background. Where she often creates depth in other collages, every dimension of the image is in sharp focus, evoking disorientation and pleasure simultaneously. Høegh further plays with contrast and themes of futurity by positioning an archival image of Kalaallit with a glacier, a traditional source of fresh drinking water, with the imagery of a modern faucet, from which we assume the woman is drinking.     



Ivínguak´ Stork Høegh Kajak to Ship (2024) Digital art
Kajak to Ship (2024) has a different feel from the other two collages in this series because Høegh plays with colour and focus in the background as well as the foreground. Where the beach and glacier are incredibly focused in the other two artworks, multiple images overlay the kajak paddlers in the background. The cloudy sky meeting the sea gives the illusion that they are paddling in the air, while the translucent yellow layer between the paddlers and the foregrounded subject suggests that they could be a glimpse of his thoughts. The subject himself is highlighted and given depth through gradients of blue and, paired with the outline surrounding him, it seems to capture a still image of glitching. This collage brings darkroom photography experiments to front of mind with the overlay of an indistinguishable ship over the man’s face and body, seamlessly blending into the block pattern of his parka—again pairing an image of modern technology with images of traditional modes of transportation. 

Høegh’s work can create tension that draws you in and holds your attention with minute details. Her work with patterns and bold colours makes her digital art almost tangible, as we see in this project. One can revel at the texture, clarity and vivacity of Høegh’s work and hope that our Arctic Indigenous futures are as bright and clear as her work!


Ivínguak´ Stork Høegh is a contemporary Greenlandic Inuk artist based in Nuuk who works with digital photo collages, ceramic sculptures as well as watercolor and acrylic paintings. For her collages, she takes most of the photographs herself, the rest she borrows with permission, and she often plays with political messages or ongoing debates in the Greenlandic society.