Monday Inspiration: Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq

Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq, Animals and People, 2000, (source)

Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq, caribou, 1980, (source)

Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq, Untitled, 1981, (source)

Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq was born in 1916, in a Nomadic camp in Nunavut- she lived there until 1950- when she moved to Baker Lake Nunavut. After the move to Baker lake she began producing images using a traditional sewing technique- applique. Baker Lake is known as a community that produces Inuit fine arts- and there was a group of women who created embroidered wall hangings- of which Anrnaqquaq was an original member. A show was curated at the national gallery in 2003 by Judith Varney -Burch- called Culture on Cloth- well worth checking out- it's truly beautiful work.

The works themselves are so rich and beautiful- I'm awed by the colours, and the fine composition. I love art that incorporates sewing, It's such a traditional 'women's work' medium- that spans cultures and ages. It's a non- apologetic way to make the statement that you value the work done for millenia by women. Elevating the tasks that are sometimes seen as unimportant or 'work-a-day', into fine art. I love the care that goes into every stitch, the slow way images like this build, stitch by stitch by stitch.