Qavavau Manumie: Drawings

With an idiosyncratic vision that is at once whimsical and contemporary, Kinngait’s Qavavau Manumie is at the forefront of a new generation of Inuit graphic artists who are reshaping artistic traditions. An avid drawer since he was he was 17, Manumie’s pen and crayon drawings of animals and humans have recently started to attract the attention of the contemporary art world.

The images range from exquisitely crafted wildlife pieces to social commentary works that address such concerns
as the negative effects of alcohol and environmental degradation. Numerous images feature Manumie’s trademark depictions of miniature people interacting with objects and animals ten times their size. Inspired by an Inuit legend about a smaller race of humans, these mysterious beings serve to remind us of our own dependencies in the face of forces beyond our control. Other works in the exhibition portray industrious multitudes of Lilliputian-like stick figures.