IQALUIT - Jamasee Pitseolak does things his own way and it's working for him.

The second-year Arctic College student is the regional winner of the sixth annual Bank of Montreal First Art invitational student art competition for Nunavut.

What's the Catch is the title of this linocut by artist Jamasee Pitseolak. The Nunavut Arctic College student won a Bank of Montreal art contest this month. - photo courtesy of BMO

He won for a linocut, his first which he created during his first year at the college. Titled What's the Catch, the print shows a school of fish with human faces eyeing bait on a hook.

"The faces on the fish represent the people who are going to catch the fish or who caught the fish," he explained. "Because sometimes the fish get away."

The award includes a $2,500 cash prize and the opportunity to accompany his art to Toronto for an exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Art next week.

"I didn't really expect to win but when I found out it was exciting," he said. "I'm honoured."

It's not the first time Pitseolak has been nationally recognized for his unique work.

Two years ago the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que., purchased a carving of a motorcycle from the artist when a representative from the institution encountered his work at a Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association show in Iqaluit. A sewing machine he carved was displayed in the National Gallery of Canada last year.

Inuit Art Quarterly Magazine featured an article on Pitseolak's highly detailed motorcycles, which are meticulously assembled from individually carved pieces, along with a carving of a curling rock and broom.

"I like playing with words in my carvings," he said.

One of his recent carvings, titled Human Race, features ovaries carved in stone surrounded by three little sperm carved from caribou antler. He carved a toothbrush with nylon bristles and a hand saw with an outstretched hand for a handle. He also carved a boot with a flower in it.

"He's our little rebel," said Beata Hejnowicz, senior instructor for the fine arts and crafts program at Arctic College. "He strays away from traditional and really likes to do contemporary and he's quite influenced by his surroundings."

This month Pitseolak is working on coursework in watercolour, pencils and pastels but he aspires to apply his meticulous attention to detail to more metalwork in addition to his ongoing carving.

"Jamasee is definitely an artist at heart," Hejnowicz said. "He has inner callings and desires that he has to fulfill and even when as a teacher I try to veer him in another direction he really opposes me. So, in the end we say: OK, Jamasee - do what you want to do. Sometimes we come up with a compromise."

Pitseolak's mother, Okpik Pitseolak, is a well known sculptor, jeweler and textile artist in Iqaluit. He is originally from Cape Dorset and has also lived in Kimmirut.

A certified plumber, Pitseolak has also received training in the Arctic College jewelry and metalwork program and participated in the National Film Board of Canada's pilot project animation workshop in Cape Dorset in 2007.

Upon graduation, he said he plans to pursue a career as an artist.