Artist Info
Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaq
Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaq is a leading multidisciplinary artist of the Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU community. Born in the Kazan River area, near Princess Mary Lake, in 1941, her mother, Gualittuaq, died shortly after her birth, and with her father, Itiplui was unable to care for her.
Tiktaalaq was orphaned and interacted with very few people until she was thirteen.Tiktaalaq settled in Qamani’tuaq with her husband, sculptor and printmaker David Tiktaalaq, in the late 1950s and began her artistic pursuits. Best known for her wall hangings, which often featured spiritual and shamanistic imagery, Tiktaalaq also created a number of drawings, prints, and sculptures.
Tiktaalaq incorporates the oral traditions taught by her grandmother, and bright, contrasting colours in her highly individualistic tapestries, and has been known to sew a border around her imagery, as an enclosure for these spiritual depictions. A prominent member of the Qamani’tuaq artist community, Tiktaalaq has undoubtedly influenced artists around her, and her brother William Ukpatiku is also a carver and printmaker.
Tiktaalaq has received commissions for public buildings from across North America and her works have been featured in galleries and exhibitions in Canada and the United States. In 1999, Tiktaalaq had a solo exhibition at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre at the University of Guelph and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws.
