Nicotye Samayualie

Nicotye Samayualie is a graphic artist from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU. Through her detailed drawings, Samayualie focuses her attention on the landscape around Kinngait, including local flora and fauna as well as everyday objects. From an artistic family, Samayualie first began dreaming about becoming an artist in childhood, but only started to pursue her art practice more seriously in her early twenties. She quickly gained attention and recently was included in the Inuit Art Quarterly Anniversary (30.3) feature, “30 Artists to Know” where she describes the influence her family and in particular her grandmother, Keeleemeeoomee Samayualie, have on her art practice.

In her work Untitled (2015), the rocky shore and water explode with colour, exquisitely detailed with fine lines, delicate colour and dynamic circular forms to denote movement. Samayualie draws the viewer’s eye across the landscape, pulling her audience into the rush of water. Shorelines are a subject that Samayualie revisits often and printmaker Paul Machnik is fond of Samayualie’s these depictions, describing her process of creation as “meticulous in drawing each pebble, crevice, positioning them as though it were a chess match [1].” Moving beyond the landscape, Samayualie is part of a new generation of artists that turn to contemporary life as a source of visual imagery, reflecting back upon their experiences through art [2]. From piles of buttons to grocery store shelves, Samayualie focuses in on subtle moments of modernity life as well as turning a critical lens on social issues too. She has the ability to shift between subject matters and create diverse and compelling works.

Samayualie’s first solo exhibition was at Feheley Fine Arts in 2015. Her work has since been exhibited in many public galleries across Canada and the United States. Samayualie was a part of a month-long residency at Banff Centre, AB in 2016. Her work has also been featured at Art Toronto, Canada’s largest art fair, as well as Nuit Blanche 2017.