Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 22/98) - Two Northern artists are currently displaying their work at an international art exhibition in Vancouver.

Art '98 welcomes galleries from around the world that are displaying pieces which range from the Impressionist period to contemporary age.

When Marion Scott Gallery owner Judy Kardosh received her invitation to the exhibition, she knew this would be the best opportunity to display the artwork which she felt deserved attention -- that of the Inuit.

"Too many people still think of Inuit art as being nothing more than polar bears and seals," Kardosh says. "Even many curators and art historians think of it only in terms of an ethnic art form produced by anonymous artisans, interesting from an ethnographic point of view but having no serious claim to the status of fine art."

The artists Kardosh decided to focus on are both from the NWT: Oviloo Tunnillie from Cape Dorset and Charlie Ugyuk from Taloyoak.

For Tunnillie, the inspiration for her carving comes from her own personal experience. While Tunnillie is not proficient in English, she explained her technique through her son, Noah.

"Her carvings are about the past, and they tell stories," Noah Tunnillie says. "Before she starts carving, she looks at the piece of soapstone she wants to use to see how the sculpture will go."

Noah Tunnillie adds that his mother has lived her entire life in Cape Dorset --except for a period when she was taken down south for treatment for tuberculosis.

In describing Ugyuk's work, Kardosh says his inspiration comes from his interest in traditional Inuit culture and his attraction to fantastic -- sometimes nightmarish -- imagery. Kardosh adds that Ugyuk is a master of the Baroque tradition of sculpture, which is evident in the intensity of his work.

Also included in the exhibition were pieces from Israel, Argentina, Australia, Singapore and Paris.