Ulayu Pingwartok
WINTER SCENE
Cape Dorset, 1967, Stonecut, 37/50, 34 x 24.25"


Raigille Anagook
KAMIK
Igloolik, 2000, Etching,
Edition of 50, 16 x 12.5"

FOUR SEASONS
Cyclical Events of the Inuit Year

Opened: Saturday, July 31, 2004

» View Four Seasons Gallery

Traditional life on the land followed the rhythm of the seasons, where survival could depend upon the moment chosen to fish, hunt or build shelter. Even modern existence in the Arctic echoes these life cycles; for example, work such as sculpting must compete for time with ancient impulses to travel in summer to outpost camps on the land. This exhibition spans the four seasons over several decades of art-making, illustrating the artists' own recollections of their experiences or knowledge passed on by elders.

Here are images of spring migrations to summer camps, hunting scenes along ice floes, images depicting the detailed process of turning skins into clothing, and celebrations of the winter drum dance in the snow house. The four seasons are filled with struggles and triumphs and the simple elegance of everyday life.

In 1977 Kingnait Press published "THE INUIT WORLD", depicting the people, animals, structures and tools of traditional Inuit life in a print by Kananginak Pootoogook. The accompanying folio provided descriptions by the artist and printmakers illuminating the cyclical nature of activities in the Inuit year. Quotes from that text accompany individual images in the web galleries of this exhibition. These passages are reproduced with the permission of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative.

For a summary of the artworks in this exhibition and a guide to locating individual works, click here. Items marked in the summary with an asterisk (*) include descriptive quotes from "THE INUIT WORLD" in their web captions. These informational passages provide details about the surprising uses of caribou bones (#13), beluga blubber (#63) and bear skins (#6) as well as outlining the proper time of year to search for birds' eggs on cliffs (#30) or build a snow house with the correct thickness of snow (#58), among other fascinating topics.

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» View Four Seasons Gallery