Annie Pootoogook (1969–2016) was an Inuit artist renowned for her drawings depicting contemporary Inuit life in Northern Canada. A pioneering visual storyteller, her work marked an important shift in national consciousness towards contemporary Inuit art and life.Â
Her distinctive drawings portrayed her experiences of domestic life, gender roles and hardships living in Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset), as well as the impact of consumerism and technology in her community, offering an unfiltered glimpse into a world rarely depicted in contemporary art.
A third generation female artist – her grandmother Pitseolak Ashoona and mother Napachie Pootoogook both being prolific and highly respected artists – she worked in the Inuit tradition of sulijuk (translated as “true”), which emphasizes honest or lived depictions rather than trends or the avant-garde.Â
Traditionally, indigenous art portrayed nomadic ways of life, with hunting and fishing as common motifs. Pootoogook transcended cultural expectations by presenting a more personal expression, rooted in the shifting cultural identity and social forces surrounding her. In this drawing, a man is seated at the kitchen table enjoying a snack. Intimate details including contemporary housewares and modern day junk food illustrate the increasing consumerism infiltrating the Kinngait communities.
Throughout her career, Pootoogook was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2006, she became the first Inuit artist to win the Sobey Art Award, and in the following year her work was shown at the Montreal Biennale and documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany. Her works are highly sought after by collectors and are in the permanent collections of the National Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario.Â
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Untitled "Blue Room"
Canada, circa 2002-2003
Colored pencil and ink on paper
Signed in syllabics and stamped with the Dorset Fine Arts blindstamp
20"H 26"W (work)
Framed
Very good condition
Literature: Nancy Campbell, Annie Pootoogook: Cutting Ice, 2017, pg. 80 and 84
Note: The embossed logo in the right corner is the Dorset Fine Arts / West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative (WBEC) chop. WBEC is the main studio in Kinngait where Pootoogook's created her works from. The embossed logo (or chop) is used to authenticate all works on paper that are made by the artist members of the WBEC. See the second last image for the chop.Â
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