Elisapee Ishulutaq

Biography

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Elisapee Ishulutaq, CM (1925–2018) was a celebrated printmaker and graphic artist born at the seasonal camp Kagiqtuqjuaq in the Northwest Territories and later moved to Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), NU, where she lived and worked. After moving to Panniqtuuq, Ishulutaq began her artistic practice and quickly started selling her work. She was included in the first Pangnirtung Print Collection in 1973 as well as each subsequent year a print collection was released. While Ishulutaq mostly worked in print and drawings, she also carved and transformed many of her prints into tapestries.

Ishulutaq's work was driven by a narrative thread that paired traditional ways of life, before settlements, alongside contemporary social and environmental issues affecting Inuit across the North. In her oil stick drawing Climate Change (2012) Ishulutaq depicted a lone Inuk in a parka, an igloo and a tree on either side. The figure faces the tree, which has begun to bloom despite being rooted in a patch of icy ground [1]. Behind them is a melting igloo, which seems to slump towards the figure, the impact of the heat warping its shape into an uncomfortable bend. Ishulutaq's piece reveals the impact of a changing climate on Inuit communities and it’s contrast with traditional ways of living. In 2016 Ishulutaq made four large-scale oil stick drawings that focused on the issue of youth suicide in northern communities. The works were the central focus of the larger solo exhibition Remembering A Future, Too at Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, BC, the same year. Over the four panels Ishulutaq depicted an event from 1996 in which a young boy took his own life a year after his older brother had. Ishulutaq employed her work to break the silence and portray the tragedy in an effort to highlight the confluence of political issues that she felt contributed to the dramatic increase in suicide rates across the North [2]. In particular, she emphasized the loss of connection to the land and cultural values as well as the lack of support provided to northern communities [3].

Ishulutaq exhibited her work nationally and internationally in institutions such as the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg, MB, the Inuit Galerie in Mannheim, Germany, and Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome, Italy, among many others. Her work is included in many notable collections including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, ON, Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec. In 2014 she was awarded the Order of Canada for her contributions to the cultural and economic health of her community. Ishulutaq and her work have appeared in multiple publications including many profiles in the Inuit Art Quarterly. Notably, she was featured on the cover of IAQ’s Spring/Summer 2010 issue as well as the cover of Spring 2016.

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.

Elisapee Ishulutaq, CM (1925–2018), était une artiste renommée dont les dessins, peintures et sculptures offraient des souvenirs de la vie traditionnelle des Inuits et contrastaient avec ses expériences et les problèmes qu’elle voyait dans le monde contemporain. Née en 1925 à Kagiqtuqjuaq, un petit camp saisonnier, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Ishulutaq a déménagé à Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), au Nunavut, à la fin des années 1960, où elle a commencé sa pratique artistique. Ishulutaq est connue pour ses images expressives et saturées de la vie domestique quotidienne dans l’Arctique canadien, dont beaucoup sont autobiographiques. Son travail est guidé par un fil narratif qui associe les modes de vie traditionnels, avant les régions désignées, aux problèmes sociaux et environnementaux contemporains qui touchent les Inuits du Nord. Isulutaq a été l’une des premières artistes à réaliser des gravures avec la coopérative Pangnirtung, aujourd’hui le Centre d'art et d'artisanat Uqqurmiut, et ses œuvres font partie de nombreuses collections remarquables, notamment celles du Musée des beaux-arts du Canada à Ottawa, en Ontario, du Musée des beaux-arts de l’Ontario à Toronto, de la Galerie d'art de Winnipeg au Manitoba et du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal au Québec. En 2014, elle a reçu l’Ordre du Canada pour sa contribution à la santé culturelle et économique de sa communauté.

ᐃᓕᓴᐱ ᐃᓱᒃᓗᑖᖅ, (1925-2018), ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᐅᑦᑎᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᔭᖅᑕᖏᓐᓄᑦ, ᐊᒥᐊᖅᑕᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᑕᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᓄᐊᑕᐅᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᑐᖃᖓᓂ ᐃᓅᓯᖃᕋᒥ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᑐᖅᓯᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᔾᔪᑕᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᑐᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥ ᓯᓚᕐᔪᐊᖓᓂ. ᐃᓅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ 1925 ᑲᖏᖅᑐᕐᔪᐊᕐᒥ, ᓄᓇᓕᕋᓛᖅ ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕐᒥ, ᐃᓱᒃᓗᑕᖅ ᓅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᕐᒧᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ, ᐊᑖᓂ 1960ᓂ ᑕᐃᑲᓂ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖃᑦᑕᓯᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ. ᐃᓱᒃᓗᑖᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᐅᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐱᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᕿᑎᑦᑎᐊᖅᖢᒋᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᖏ ᖃᐅᑕᒫᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᕆᔭᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᐅᑉ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᐊᓂ, ᐊᒥᓱᑦ ᐃᒥᓂᒃ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ. ᓴᓇᔭᖏᑦ ᐋᕿᒃᓱᖅᓯᒪᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᑦ ᐃᓚᓯᒪᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᕐᒥᒃ, ᓄᓇᓕᖃᓚᐅᖅᑎᓐᓇᒍ, ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᒫᓐᓇᐅᓕᖅᑐᖅ ᐃᓅᓯᕆᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᕙᑎᑦᑎᓂ ᐱᔾᔪᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᐊᒃᑐᐃᔪᑦ ᐃᓄᖕᓂᒃ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ. ᐃᓱᒃᓗᑖᖅ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᓂ ᑎᑎᖅᑐᒐᖃᑦᑕᓕᖅᑐᓂ ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ ᑯᐊᐸᒃᑯᖏᑦᑎᒍᑦ, ᒫᓐᓇ ᐅᓱᕐᒥᐅᖑᓕᖅᑐᑦ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᕐᕕᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒥᖅᓱᕐᕕᒃ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᓇᔭᖏᑦ ᐃᓚᖃᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᓂᑦ ᓄᐊᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᓲᕐᓗ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᐋᑐᕚᒥ, ᐋᓐᑎᐅᕆᐅ, ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᐋᓐᑎᐅᕆᐅ ᑐᓛᓐᑐᒥ, ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᕗᑦ ᕕᓂᐲᒃ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᖓᓂ ᒫᓂᑑᐸᒥ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒪᓐᑐᕆᐊᒥ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑯᐊᐸᖕᒥᑦ, ᑕᐃᑲᓂ 2014 ᑐᓂᔭᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᐃᓕᓴᕆᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᒋᖃᑦᑕᖅᑕᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᐅᓯᑐᖃᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒪᑭᒪᓇᓱᐊᕐᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᓐᖏᑦᑎᐊᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᓂ.