Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Jun 15/98) - In one sense, Gerri Mulley's new determination to produce only serious-minded and thought-provoking images in her art started with a pair of shoes.

Before moving North last year, Mulley and her police officer husband had to undergo fierce psychological testing prior to accepting a position with the RCMP detachment in Iqaluit.

"The psychologist kept asking him all these questions about how he'd handle the move and I thought, what about me? I'm moving too," Mulley said. "She said I have to ask him, I don't have to ask you."

"And I thought, I'm sitting in his shadow.'"

The experience provided Mulley with fodder for her upcoming university graduation art show and she ended up with a ceramic sculpture piece she calls "In The Shadow."

The creation shows a pair of women's shoes tucked in behind a pair of RCMP boots and Mulley says it led to the notion of using shoes as her way of conveying her ideas.

"If I can do this piece and use shoes, why not use shoes for the rest? It's a really neat medium to speak with and it allowed me to speak quite strongly," says Mulley, who through the 35 different pieces in the show, dealt with topics from pre-menstrual syndrome to spousal assault to her diagnosis of breast cancer in 1991.

Utilizing a wide variety of materials, the show -- and in particular the pieces which focused on breast cancer -- had a tremendous effect on its audience.

"People would come up to me and just hug me and not say anything. That meant a lot to me and that's what I want to do now," says Mulley.

Mulley says she realizes that the saleability of her new focus may not be huge, but she feels driven to produce art which causes people to think.

"More and more, I don't just want to do pretty art," she says. "I want to do art that speaks to people and teaches."

"It's something I'm growing into now. I like to be able to show my work and have people appreciate what I've done and maybe someday, that will have value."