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SIASSIE KENNEALLY (1969 - ) |
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Siassie Kenneally was born in 1969 in Iqalugajuk. Today she lives and works in Cape Dorset. Siassie's talents undoubtedly stem from a family lineage of notable artists. She is the daughter of Qaqaq Ashoona, and Mayureak Ashoona, and the granddaughter of Pitseolak Ashoona. In her work, Siassie seeks to carry on the legacy of her family. Siassie began drawing in 2004, learning the art form at Shartoweetok, the camp of her father. Mayoreak and Pitseolak are among her teachers, as well as fellow Cape Dorset graphic artists Shuvinai Ashoona, Ohotaq Mikkigaq and Annie Pootoogook. The landscape of the region of Shartoweetok where Siassie was raised is the primary inspiration for her work. Siassie's objective is to share traditional Inuit ideology through her works of art. Colours, storytelling, animals, elders, the earth and the sea are her preferred topics. Through her images, Siassie seeks to communicate the significance of rocks to Inuit communities. The arctic landscape is stark and rocks are the main feature. Traditionally, rocks were vital in the lives of the Inuit, as they were used for various purposes, such as building homes, making fishing weirs and kudliks, fashioning hunting blinds, and grinding dried caribou meat. As an emerging artist, Siassie's work has recently started to gain recognition. Her drawings were exhibited along side those of her cousins, Shuvinai Ashoona and Annie Pootoogook, in Ashoona: Third Wave at the Art Gallery of Alberta in December 2006.
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