The life and work of Sharni Pootoogook (1922–2003), though still largely underexplored, draws clear and fundamental connections between first-generation artists in Kinngait, Nunavut, and the current trends in Inuit graphic art. Her bold designs helped to shape and inform the course of Inuit printmaking during a period of great turmoil that threatened Inuit land, culture and traditional languages. Drawn from the Kelowna Art Gallery’s permanent collection and supplemented by works on loan from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, this exhibition features works on paper that demonstrate Pootoogook’s trademark style of heavy linework and well-balanced design. Blurring the boundaries between human and animal, the spiritual and the physical, Pootoogook’s work creates space for wonder and uncertainty.
Image: Sharni Pootoogook (1922-2003), Untitled, 2001, ink on paper. Collection of the Kelowna Art Gallery. Purchased with funds from the Permanent Collection Reserve, 2022. Photo: Yuri Akuney, Digital Perfections