Reviewed by Kevin Griffin
Inuit artist are pushing the boundaries of traditional Inuit prints in a new exhibition of expressive works that includes subject matter rarely if ever portrayed by artists from the north.
The exhibition is called Sweet Innovation after the technique used by the four artists to create the prints. Instead of using an etching tool to create the kind of fine, controlled line associated with most Inuit prints, the artists poured or “painted” with a viscous substance comprising several ingredients including India ink, liquid dish detergent and corn syrup directly onto the etching plate. In some cases, sugar is added to the mixture which gives the technique its name: sugar-lift etching. The technique allows artists to create looser and more gestural works.
The prints came about because of a unique collaboration. Marion Scott Gallery/Kardosh Projects (MSG/KP) co-sponsored – with the Nunavut government – a two week residency for Tony Anguhalluq and Jamasie Pitseolak at Montreal’s Studio PM, the leading Inuit printmaker in the country. Kenojuak Ashevak and Jutai Toonoo, the other two artists, created prints in Cape Dorset with the support of West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative, Studio PM and Dorset Fine Arts.
