Cape Dorset 2018 Special Release: A multitude of ifinities by Shuvinai Ashoona

A MULTITUDE OF INFINITIES

This suite of sumptuous edge-to-edge printed lithographs employ a playful complexity of pattern and an unusual colour palette. These prints address a range of natural themes invoked by Ashoona’s unique approach to conventional iconography and her distinctive otherworldly aesthetic. 

Seals, Walruses, and Clams are depicted along with plentiful Octopuses— a recurrent fascination. In this body of work, Ashoona has again occupied a visual space that is altogether lyrical, humorous, frenetic and more than a little off-putting.

Shuvinai Ashoona has exhibited extensively both within Canada and internationally. Her work occupies a unique place within contemporary Inuit art, combining elements of Inuit culture and mythology with influences derived from contact with southern industrial society, all subsumed within her richly imaginative world.

When I start to draw I remember things that I have experienced or seen. Although I do not attempt to recreate these images exactly, that is what might happen. Sometimes they come out more realistically but sometimes they turn out completely different. That is what happens when I draw. 

-Shuvinai Ashoona (From “Ghost Noise”; Produced and directed by Marcia Connolly)