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GLORIA PUTUMIRAQTUQ (1975 - ) |
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Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq is the step-daughter of well-known Baker Lake wallhanging artist Winnie Tatya. Putumiraqtuq's textile works recall her mother's technique of covering the surface of animals with a thick coating of sewn stitches to give them added dimension. Sewing skills now used in modern Inuit textile arts evolved out of the historical need for carefully constructed skin clothing and camp equipment; this was traditionally the work of Inuit women. Since the 1960s, the women of Baker Lake have become world-famous for their art in textiles. Colourful cut felt forms are cut free-hand or traced from hand-made stencils, and are hand-stitched onto large spreads of duffel (heavy wool with a slightly fluffy pile). Whether or not the final product employs appliquéd felt forms, a variety of embroidery floss stitches are used in solid or variegated threads to embellish the surface. Borders are traditionally stitched with alternating colours of thread to edge the composition. Still a young artist, Putumiraqtuq has rapidly developed a following among Inuit art collectors for her keen sense of colour and confident design. She attended the Toronto opening of her first solo exhibition at Feheley Fine Arts in 2001. Her images are filled with spirit figures, animals and scenes of traditional life such as dog teams or the winter qaggiq (camp gathering). Gloria signs her wallhangings by stitching the Inuktitut syllabics for one of her names, Inugaq. This name was given to her before she was born: her mother, pregnant with Gloria and alone in the tent at the hunting camp, received a spirit visit from a deceased uncle named Inugaq who asked her for food and left behind a cigarette to mark his visit! Gloria is proud of her various Inuit names:
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