Name/Title
Whale HuntingEntry/Object ID
2018.02.01Description
Elisapee Ishulutaq (1925-2018) was a well-known printer and graphic artist who was born in the Northwest Territories at the seasonal settlement Kagiqtuqjuaq. She later relocated to Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), Nunavut. Ishulutaq’s career began shortly after arriving in Panniqtuuq. In 1973, she was included in the first Pangnirtung Print Collection, and each year after that, a print collection was issued. While Ishulutaq's primary medium was printmaking and drawing, she also sculpted and converted several of her prints into tapestries.
Although Ishulutaq's practice transitioned over her life, narrative storytelling was always central to her work. Her art was often a political reflection on traditional ways of life and contemporary social and environmental issues that affected Inuit peoples. Isulutaq's prints and drawings had been particularly influenced by the apparent lack of support for Inuit communities by the government and increasing suicide amongst Indigenous youth. To the artist, there was an ongoing crisis caused by a loss of connection between the land, traditions, and the new generation of Inuit. Ishulutaq viewed her art as a means of restoring connections to the past by transmitting knowledge of the community's elders.
Like many artists of her generation, Elisapee Ishulutaq's work is autobiographical and depicts traditional ways of life and domestic scenes. Her compositions often combine multiple perspectives, uneven scale and portions, and bold lines giving her works a unique abstract quality.
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, the 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.Artwork Details
Medium
sugar-lift etching, aquatint on paperMade/Created
Artist
Ishulutaq, ElisapeeDate made
2016Edition
9/12Dimensions
Height
99.06 cmWidth
139.7 cm