Kudluajuk Ashoona
B. 1958 Kinngait, NU —
The drawings of Kudluajuk Ashoona are likely to leave viewers with questions: Why are these children wearing face paint? Why is this stove outside? Who are these men with long hair? Ashoona keeps the content of her drawings to herself, leaving them untitled and without inscription. As a result, her audience is invited to fill in the narrative. Like many graphic artists working in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, Ashoona has embraced photography as a tool for her drawings. Though they are contemporary in their execution, Ashoona’s drawings are incredibly nostalgic, capturing the fashions, hairstyles and interior decor of the recent past. One can imagine her flipping through an album full of photos of her community and family (including ones of her daughters Nicotye and Padloo Samayualie, who have also enjoyed recent successes for their graphic work), wondering which memory she’d like to draw next.