Working with common materials such as bone, antler and stones found in his Inuit community of Cape Dorset, Kiugak Ashoona depicts the tales of shamans and spirits which form the framework of his art.

His newest exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Stories and Imaginings from Cape Dorset, includes 30 carvings (six from the WAG’s permanent collection), and a collection of drawings.

Ashoona started working with bones and stones upon discovering a serpentinite deposit at Aberdeen Bay in 1954, and the majority of his artwork has since been created from this gorgeous green stone.

The exhibit is dotted with green serpentinite stone sculptures of depicting routine life in the ‘30s and ‘40s in Cape Dorset where he was raised surrounded by Inuit culture, shamans and the ever-present shamanic world.

Bringing routine activities to a still, we are given insight into the artist’s life.

Take the depiction of a bare Inuk woman preparing to skin a fish. The description reads, “Women would slip their ‘amautiqs’ down when cleaning skins, or scraping fat so as not to soil them.”

Other examples are Man Chanting and Man Carrying Stone Block which are both serpentinite sculptures further depicting Ashoona’s expression of his surroundings.

Hunter Throwing Harpoon is a serpentinite, antler and sealskin sculpture of the pride of an Inuk man as he prepares to thrust forward and throw his harpoon. This is also an example of a desire to create pieces that resemble the movement and total engagement in the work that embodied life in his community.

The exhibit is accompanied by excerpts from interviews with Ashoona, who, although extremely talented, is almost comically inarticulate.

“ Sculpture after sculpture, Ashoona demonstrates a talent beyond his stunning design and handiwork – that of connecting the viewer to a culture so bound by shamans and the stories they told

An untitled drawing depicting a musk ox was accompanied by Ashoona pondering, “I wondered why people like that drawing.”

His explanations for drawings like Shopping at the Co-op, which has Inuktitut syllabics that read, “It’s fun to go shopping at the Co-op,” are just as comical: “The man is holding the flag because it is fun to go shopping at the Co-op.”

“I used to be afraid of Shamans,” he confesses under a photo of an angry looking creature. “Many Inuks are controlled by cards,” he explains under another labelled Gambling. “I wasn’t happy about playing cards. I quit.”

Regardless of his less-than-eloquent descriptions, his work – especially his carvings – speak for themselves.

Sculpture after sculpture, Ashoona demonstrates a talent beyond his stunning design and handiwork – that of connecting the viewer to a culture so bound by shamans and the stories they told.

Kiugak Ashoona: Stories and Imaginings from Cape Dorset is on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery until Sunday, Dec. 5.

Published in Volume 65, Number 2 of The Uniter (September 9, 2010)