ARTIST PROJECT

Terraform | Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak

Nov 07, 2022
by Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak

My writing and visuals for this project, titled Terraform, infuse science fiction and ecology to share connections between worlds and memories, envision an alternate reality on a livable planet and emphasize the importance of our dreams and futurisms as Inuit.

Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak unearth (2022)ALL WORKS © THE ARTIST

OEegeesiak_terraform_future fossil record

Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak future fossil record (2022)

As an Inuk/qallunaaq living in the south, there is a sense of alienation from culture, language and land. Despite the distance in space, there are values and worldviews I have been gifted. My relationships with my siblings are central to these works. As adoptees, our family was composed in a unique way that shows the potential of extending kinship into other realms, including beyond the human.

OEegeesiak_terraform_uploading our consciousnesses to pronghorn, snow bunting, and narwhal (1) copy

Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak uploading our consciousnesses to pronghorn, snow bunting, and narwhal (2022)

Feature_OEegeesiak_terraform_4families4siblings

Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak 4 families 4 siblings (tiguaq) (2022)

Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak nebula (2022)

4_OEegeesiak_Terraform_we perish to become everything copy

In my life, the concept of home has always been unsettling. While I may be displaced, there is belonging in being an earthling. We live in a time of climate apocalypse and extinction alongside the false promises of space travel, geoengineering, and some green technology. When flourishing isn’t found in colonizing Mars you just need to phone home.

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Ooleepeeka Eegeesiak was born in Iqaluit and is currently living in Treaty 7 Niitsitapi lands, Lethbridge, Alberta. She is a writer, curator, wannabe gardener and prairie lover.

This series was made possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts.