Shitty Fucken Day

(2013)

I would guess that everyone, at least once, has had such a frustrating day that everything, even the view out of your window, seems pretty fucking shitty. Jutai Toonoo’s (1959– 2015) Shitty Fucken Day deftly captures the spirit of such a miserable day. At first glance, the landscape looks roughly rendered, its uneven edges and sketched interior hastily captured on the page. However, on closer inspection, the sky is actually made up of hundreds of small “fucks,” and the land hundreds more “shits,” like so many small irritations piled on top of each other. The muted, limited colour palette enhances the sense of frustration written into the landscape and, in turn, encourages the viewer’s sneaking suspicion that once he collected them all on the page, Jutai was likely all out of “fucks” to give on that particular “shitty” day.

ALYSA PROCIDA

Executive Director and Publisher

FINE ARTS MADRONA GALLERY Jutai Toonoo (1959–2015 Kinngait) —LEFTShitty Fucken Day 2013Oil stick121.9 × 121.9 cm REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION DORSET