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MAYUREAK ASHOONA (1946 - ) |
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Mayureak Ashoona was born in 1946 on Baffin Island. Her mother was Sheouak Parr, who became well known for her graphics during the 1960s. Mayureak married Qaqaq Ashoona, who achieved fame as a sculptor. Although Mayureak began drawing in the early 1960s, she could not devote herself to art-making because of family responsibilities. Nevertheless, she occasionally contributed prints to the annual Cape Dorset collections from 1978 onward. After her husband's death in 1996, Mayureak devoted greater time and energy to her art-making, and her unique style strengthened due to a new sense of freedom and confidence. Today, she is one of few Inuit women to work on a large scale in stone, creating complex lyrical images of the Inuit sea goddess Sedna, birds and mask-like faces. She also makes drawings and prints, and is one of few Inuit artists to have created a series of paintings using oil stick and brushes. Mayureak's graphic works take a documentary approach to recording traditional culture, particularly the activities of women, and to communicating her appreciation of the beauty of the land. "I want the younger generation to make sure that the kayak and traditional Inuit ways are never forgotten," the artist insists.
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