Malaya Akulukjuk
The craggy scenery of Malaya Akulukjuk’s (1912–1995) piece, dotted with inuksuit, evinces both isolation and habitation, sunny shores and the hidden shadows where other possibilities lurk.
One of only four places in the world with dedicated artistic tapestry production, the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio has been running its wool and cotton looms since 1969, and currently operates out of a 2,100 sq. ft. space in the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts and Crafts. The close proximity of the print shop, which shares the building, and the stable of graphic artists whose designs are used by both print and tapestry makers, has resulted in a strong community aesthetic that carries across media. This tapestry thrives from that proximity; its many gradients echo the stippling technique used in Pangnirtung prints, and the green and pink skyline instantly links it to the surrounding landscape of south Baffin Island.
This piece is, in fact, likely drawn directly from a nearby site: in 2000, July Papatsie said “Qaqqilutuk is the name of a specific campsite where Malaya Akulukjuk’s family went every spring.”¹ Anna Etoangat, the tapestry artist who translated Akulukjuk’s drawing to the tapestry grid, said this piece was her favourite, because it reminded her of places she knew.
As one of the main contributors to the tapestry studio during its first decade, Akulukjuk’s prolific graphics prompted a 1995 Special Collection of twelve tapestries, four landscapes— of which Qaqqilutuk is one—and eight smaller pieces focused on her tuurngait figures.
The composition of this piece blurs the liminal barriers between elements of the landscape. The sun is high in the sky, yet a coral glow emanates from the horizon, perhaps from a settlement behind the mountains or from the land itself reflected in the air. Individual hills are distinguished by colour, without harsh outlines, while rocks stream down through rivers to the sea, linking water and earth. In this space where sea, sky and shore meet,
Qaqqilutuk reminds us of the ways in which our narratives are interwoven.