Name/Title
Crusher (Yellow Ochre)Entry/Object ID
2021.07.01Description
Alexa Hatanaka (b. 1988, Toronto, Ontario) is a Kinngait, Nunavut-based artist who works primarily in printmaking and papermaking. Inspired by her Japanese heritage, Hatanaka’s artistic practice engages with historic techniques and processes that are often laborious and time-consuming. Her works often focus on community-building/collaboration, the environment, and honouring evolving cultural practices keeping traditional craftsmanship alive in new ways.
Some of Hatanaka's more recent works are inspired by her time spent in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut over the past seven years, where she continues to spend time learning and collaborating with artists.
Crusher (2019) is a series of prints inspired by the vast, uneven landscapes of Baffin Island and the traditional printmaking practices of local Inuk artists. Both the ink and paper of the linear composition are made by Hatanaka herself, combining Japanese washi with forged Baffin Island iron-ore ink. The artworks reflect the artist's deep interest in collaboration, partnering different techniques and mediums from different cultures as she experiments with her printmaking.
Her artworks have been exhibited internationally, most notably at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the British Museum and Canada House in London, the Toronto Biennial of Art, and the Guanlan International Printmaking Base in Shenzhen, China. Her seminal work Hazmat Suit (unborn/ reborn tsunami) was acquired by the National Gallery of Canada in 2021.
https://www.alexahatanaka.com/Artwork Details
Medium
linocut print on handmade gampi paper with forged Baffin Island iron-ore inkMade/Created
Date made
2019Edition
varied editionDimensions
Height
43.19 cmWidth
55.88 cm