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Simon Tookoome
Canadian, 1934 - 2010
Simon Tookoome was a sculptor and graphic artist from Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU. An Utkusiksalingmiut Inuit, Tookoome was born in 1934 near Chantrey Inlet and grew up nomadically. He also spent time further north in Gjoa Haven, where he experienced the culture of the Netsilik Inuit. In 1965, Tookoome and his wife, Mary Ivoksaq, reluctantly relocated to Qamani’tuaq due to widespread famine and starvation in the surrounding areas. Their children were also to receive education in the settlement. Tookoome’s wife, Mary, passed away a few years later and he later was remarried to Barbara Qivuk.
With the arrival of Jack and Sheila Butler in 1969 in Qamani’tuaq, Tookoome took up drawing and sculpting more seriously. Tookoome recalled his initial experience with bringing in his drawings: “I first got into hand drawings in 1970. I would take my drawings to the print shop and the buyer would rip them into pieces. Out of five drawings, only two were bought and the rest were torn to shreds in front of my face. It hurt me immensely.” Soon, Tookoome became one of the most prominent artists in Qamani’tuaq and was a founding member of the Sanavik Co-op. Influenced by the stories he heard as a child from his mother and stepfather, Tutanuaq, Tookoome’s work features his own style of mythology mixed with realism, depicting legends of shamans and other Inuit stories. Tookoome was encouraged to make textile work and wall hangings but preferred sculpture, drawing and jewellery.
Tookoome has received many accolades over his career. He won the Norma Fleck Award for a children’s book titled The Shaman’s Nephew: A Life in the Far North, published with Sheldon Oberman in 1999 and was awarded first prize by the Canadian Olympic Committee in a poster contest for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Tookoome’s prints were included in the annual Baker Lake print collections from 1971-1990, and have been exhibited internationally.
With the arrival of Jack and Sheila Butler in 1969 in Qamani’tuaq, Tookoome took up drawing and sculpting more seriously. Tookoome recalled his initial experience with bringing in his drawings: “I first got into hand drawings in 1970. I would take my drawings to the print shop and the buyer would rip them into pieces. Out of five drawings, only two were bought and the rest were torn to shreds in front of my face. It hurt me immensely.” Soon, Tookoome became one of the most prominent artists in Qamani’tuaq and was a founding member of the Sanavik Co-op. Influenced by the stories he heard as a child from his mother and stepfather, Tutanuaq, Tookoome’s work features his own style of mythology mixed with realism, depicting legends of shamans and other Inuit stories. Tookoome was encouraged to make textile work and wall hangings but preferred sculpture, drawing and jewellery.
Tookoome has received many accolades over his career. He won the Norma Fleck Award for a children’s book titled The Shaman’s Nephew: A Life in the Far North, published with Sheldon Oberman in 1999 and was awarded first prize by the Canadian Olympic Committee in a poster contest for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Tookoome’s prints were included in the annual Baker Lake print collections from 1971-1990, and have been exhibited internationally.