Kiviuq’s Journey by Victoria Mamnguqsualuk (1930-2016), Inuit

Regular price $975.00 Sale

Kiviuq’s Journey, c. 1990
by Victoria Mamnguqsualuk (1930-2016), Inuit
Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut, Canada
colored pencil and crayon on arches paper
22.5" high x 30" wide, paper size

One of the most important stories of the Inuit culture are the adventures of Kiviuq, a legendary hero, who is known as an eternal Inuk wanderer. As the story goes, Kiviaq encounters a supernatural being who curses him to have a lifetime of obstacles if he tries to return home. Not one to be deterred, Kiviaq leaves anyway, and is confronted by mythical creatures, transformers, giants, bears, wolves, musk ox, and sea monsters, all trying to prevent Kiviuq from returning to his village and his parents. In this drawing, Kiviuq is confronted by an enchanted musk ox, trying to get in his way, and prevent him from passing.

The legends of Kiviuq were beloved stories passed down from Victoria's grandparents, to her mother Jesse Oonark, to her and her sisters Janet Kiqusiaq and Miriam Marealik Qiyuk. Kiviuq features prominently in the drawings, prints, and tapestries of all these renown artists.

Inuit artist Victoria Mamnguqsualuk (1930-2016) learned many tales from her grandmother of animals and mythological creatures and brought them to life in ink, crayon, colored pencil, and tapestries. She learned many tales from her grandmother of animals who both helped and hindered Inuit existence. Alongside her mother, renowned Baker Lake artist Jessie Oonark, Mamnguqsualuk used her skills to create storied tapestries and expanded her artistic repertoire to include drawing and carving.

For the first thirty years of her life, Mamnguqsualuk led a hunting lifestyle as a result of her people’s seasonal migration on the land of Back River, Northwest Territories. She moved to Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut, in 1963 due to widespread famine and disease. Here, she became a major artist of the Sanavik Co-operative, showing eight of her prints in the first Baker Lake Print Collection in 1970.

Mamnguqsualuk’s style features confident and diverse lines that create a landscape in motion—one filled with people, animals, and beings from the spirit world. There are no empty arctic vistas in her work. Her early drawings convey how communities must work together to survive, which requires a careful caretaking relationship with animals and spirits.

Mamnguqsualuk's works have appeared in nearly 100 exhibitions in Canada, the United States and internationally. Her art can be found in numerous permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.