Germaine Arnaktauyok

The black elements of the etching appear like rocks, but upon closer look, they materialize into a night sky. It becomes clear that this piece depicts the northern lights with possible human spirits dancing across them.

The northern lights are always a breathtaking experience with their glow dancing and swirling across the dark Arctic night sky, often evoking feelings of awe and fear with their ominous presence. They are unique to the Arctic Circle, and witnessing such stunning moments is rare. Any time I see an image of northern lights I think of how the ability to witness them is reserved for northern people and how those moments are special to us.

It comes as no surprise to me that people gaze up to the skies and see these colourful wonders as part of something with larger significance than just earthly existence. The bright shimmer brings people closer to experiencing celestial spaces.

The lights remind me of stars and planets and of another dimension where living beings don’t exist. I think of how comforting and scary it was to sit there and watch the sky dance as my ancestors told me about the creatures and animal relatives they share space with in the afterlife. Perhaps that is exactly what Germaine Arnaktauyok wants us to see with her aquatint etching Northern Lights (2006).

Arnaktauyok is known for telling Inuit legends through her art, such as in her 2018 book Takannaaluk, and this artwork is no exception. At first glance, Inuit dressed in amautiit appear as if they are walking in a waterfall, or perhaps falling in snow. They are without any facial features and are a mix of short, tall, big and small statures.

A creature with tusks, possibly a walrus, protrudes from the wipsy, white mist. The black elements of the etching appear like rocks, but upon closer look, they materialize into a night sky. It becomes clear that this piece depicts the northern lights with possible human spirits dancing across them.

Being an artist born in Iglulik (Igloolik), NU, a town known for its walrus hunting and igunaq, Arnaktauyok depicts a northern Arctic Inuit legend of Inuit playing games with a walrus skull. However, in this piece the skull is barely noticeable, and the interactions among the people floating in the cushy, flowy northern lights become the focus. I am possibly witnessing a transcendental moment where the spirits are showing themselves as gleeful and fearless, giving me a glimpse of my life as a future ancestor.

In this piece, the northern lights do not have their typical vibrant green and purple sheen but are a cloud-like white and gray, giving the entire image a dream-like quality. Arnaktauyok’s artistic choice to portray the northern lights in this dreamscape furthers the impression that this moment is a mystical experience to behold.

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Chantal Jung (she/they) is a self-taught multimedia ar tist and writer with a focus on collage art, zines, video and film. Jung is originally from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nunatsiavut, NL, and is currently a guest on Muwekma Ohlone lands (San Jose, California).