Congratulations Tarralik Duffy, 2021 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award Winner!
Tarralik Duffy, a multidisciplinary artist originally from Salliq (Coral Harbour), NU, is the winner of this year’s Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, a $10,000 prize from the Inuit Art Foundation that celebrates established mid-career Inuit artists.
Duffy is a multi-talented artist and writer whose creativity spans across fashion, jeweller y making, drawing and writing, gaining inspiration from traditional culture, but also reflecting the current realities of being Inuk. Her work is akin to that of Annie Pootoogook by including elements of Inuit community life in contemporary set tings, but Duff y makes it her own, morphing southern items by creating an Inuit version, of ten with Inuk tut syllabics, to firmly assert Inuit sovereignty. Cow of the Sea (2015) illustrates this impulse: she transforms a can of tuna into a can of seal meat, but also makes a playful jab at reality television. While the work is meant to be playful, it also inspires us to question why canned tuna is generally an acceptable food in Western society but canned seal meat is not.
Duffy’s art engages directly with Inuk tut-speaking viewers in particular, with titles that incorporate a play-on-words. Through Duff y’s approachable works, non-Inuit are able to get a small glimpse into a deeper level of Inuit culture—a level that looks beyond the iconic emblems of the past, beyond iglus, polar bears and dog teams, and into the rich, multifaceted mindscape of Inuit today.
Winning the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award is the latest of her impressive career accomplishments. In 2014 Duffy was the recipient of the Sall Manning Award and in 2018, her drawing Itti Pau was featured on the cover of the Inuit Art Quarter ly’ s Winter 2018 issue. In that same issue, Duffy’s artwork was included in the article“Snap! Crack le! Inuit Pop Ar t!” by Cass Gardiner. Her work has also been exhibited at the Ar t Gallery of Guelph in Ontario and the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Manitoba.
“It’s wonderful to see an incredibly talented, multidisciplinary artist win this year’s award! Tarralik’s work is clever, thought-provoking and reflects her close ties to the community of Salliq, NU. I look forward to seeing what she creates next!”
Jocelyn Piirainen 2021 JURY MEMBER
“My appreciation for Tarralik Duffy’s work is intrinsically tied to my own Inuit identity. Duffy exemplifies this generation of Inuit artists in her penchant for “Inukizing” everyday objects such as Pepsi cans, canned meat and Coleman stoves. All of these modernday conveniences have been emblematic of our generation’s Inuit culture. Embracing this and revealing the humour in it, endears her to peers firstly, and then the broader Inuit art world. Making Inuit art for other Inuit is one way Tarralik Duffy is championing self-determination through artmaking.”
Heather Campbell IAF STR ATEGIC INITIATIVES DIRECTOR
“It’s a big honour to be named amongst people and named by people that I admire. It’s a really great community. I want my work to speak and to be out there in the world. I want to honour Kenojuak. She’s an amazing artist. When I look at her pieces, there’s a palpable power or life force. Just to be named alongside her in any way is very touching.”
Tarralik Duffy